A Hughes County Circuit Court Judge has issued a ruling (Feb. 8, 2021) saying the voter approved Constitutional Amendment allowing recreational marijuana use in South Dakota isn’t legal.
Sixth Circuit Judge Christina Klinger agreed with the challenge filed by Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom and South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Rick Miller.
Klinger ruled Amendment A was improper because it contained more than one subject. She also said it was a revision to the constitution rather than an amendment, and thus was passed via an unconstitutional process.
Thom and Miller say the judge’s ruling solidifies the protections that were sought when voters approved Constitutional Amendment Z in 2018.
Lawyers defending the constitutional amendment had argued Miller and Thom didn’t have legal standing to sue and asked a South Dakota judge to dismiss the case. Last month (Jan. 8, 2021), Gov. Kristi Noem issued an executive order saying she directed Miller to file the lawsuit, which put the authority of the Governor behind Miller’s challenge because he was acting on her behalf.
Voters approved the amendment in November with 54% of the vote.
The ruling will likely be appealed to the South Dakota Supreme Court.
Miller and Thom’s arguments focused on the drafting and proposal to legalize recreational marijuana use as a constitutional amendment. First, they cite this clause in Article XXIII Sec. 1. of the South Dakota Constitution: “A proposed amendment may amend one or more articles and related subject matter in other articles as necessary to accomplish the objectives of the amendment; however, no proposed amendment may embrace more than one subject.”
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