The last time the state’s voters approved cannabis, Governor Noem vetoed it
Great airs of relief (with a whiff of cannabis) have come to advocates of the plant in South Dakota after the governor’s view of legalization was announced. The initiative to legalize marijuana will be placed on the ballot, and should it receive the go-ahead from voters, the governor of The Mount Rushmore State said she has no problem approving the measure.
According to Governor Kristi Noem, one of her main roles is to oversee the implementation of this new market if the voters say yes in the elections to be held in three months. It appears that Noem’s position has been changing over time, as many critics bring to mind the legalization measure two years ago that she deliberately alluded to.
Still, recent comments on the issue at an event last week have brought a little more calm to the community that hopes to see legalization become a reality. During the event, she tried to explain why she was taking a different approach to citizen-led reform this go-round, saying that this year’s initiative has a more Constitutionally appropriate language.
Many advocates still seem skeptical of this comment. Now that she is up for re-election, some suspect that her sudden change on marijuana is an attempt to take a popular issue approach and deflect attention from her previous obstruction.
In an attempt to prevent another legal challenge, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML) adopted a tighter legalization approach. It omitted some provisions related to regulation and taxation, leaving those decisions up to the legislature.