South Dakota Initiated Measure 26 was a 2020 voter
initiative to legalize
medical cannabis
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...
in the U.S. state of
South Dakota. The initiative was certified by the
South Dakota Secretary of State
The secretary of state of South Dakota is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The current secretary of state is Monae Johnson.
Divisions
The secretary of state's office is composed of three divisions:
*ThBusi ...
for the 2020 ballot on December 19, 2019. The sponsor of the initiative was New Approach South Dakota, a volunteer group headed by Melissa Mentele. The group had unsuccessfully tried to get an initiative on the 2018 ballot. Polling in September 2020 indicated 70% voter support for the initiative.
On November 3, 2020, the initiative passed with 70% approval. With the passage of
Constitutional Amendment A on the same ballot, South Dakota would have become the first state in US history to legalize recreational and medical cannabis simultaneously, but Amendment A was struck down as unconstitutional the following February, pending a higher court's ruling.
After the election, South Dakota governor
Kristi Noem requested the state legislature delay the implementation of IM 26 from July 2021 until 2022, ostensibly to give the state more time to prepare due to complications stemming from the
COVID-19 pandemic. State House members agreed to reduce the proposed delay from July 2022 until January 2022 and subsequently passed Noem's legislation, but disagreements with the Senate over an amendment to the bill legalizing personal possession of cannabis resulted in the collapse of legislative negotiations on medical marijuana. IM 26 is therefore scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2021, as originally planned.
With South Dakota lawmakers at impasse, medical marijuana program approved by voters in November looking more viable
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Results
See also
*Cannabis in South Dakota
Cannabis in South Dakota is legal for medical use as of July 1, 2021, having been legalized by a ballot initiative on November 3, 2020. Prior to then, cannabis was fully illegal, with South Dakota being the only U.S. state which outlawed ingestio ...
References
External links
South Dakota Initiated Measure 26, Medical Marijuana Initiative (2020)
Ballotpedia
2020 cannabis law reform
Cannabis in South Dakota
Proposed laws of the United States
Cannabis ballot measures in the United States
Measure 26
South Dakota Measure 26
South Dakota ballot measures
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