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Justices Deliberate Marijuana Amendment

Photos courtesy of Robins Kaplan and Redstone Law. Graphic by Victoria Wicks.

On Nov. 3, 2020, South Dakota citizens voted to approve an amendment to the state constitution that legalizes all things cannabis. Voters also approved an initiated measure directing the state to establish a medical marijuana program.

After the election, the superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Pennington County Sheriff sued to challenge the constitutionality of Amendment A. They hold that it contains a multitude of subjects, rather than a single subject as required by a 2018 amendment initiated by the state legislature.

A Sixth Circuit judge agreed with the law officers and found Amendment A to be unconstitutional.

Amendment A proponents appealed, and the South Dakota Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday, April 28.

Victoria Wicks presents some of those arguments for SDPB.

Rapid City freelancer Victoria L. Wicks has been producing news for SDPB since August 2007. She Retired from this position in March 2023.
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