Backers of a marijuana question approved by voters say a court challenge against the measure should have been brought before the election, not after.
That’s one of the legal arguments South Dakotans For Better Marijuana Laws says they’ll bring forward.
Brendan Johnson is president of the group.
“If you have a question about the constitutionality of the measures the time to argue that and the time to seek to enjoin that from going on the ballot is before you have tens of thousands of people voting on it,” Johnson says. “Once it is in the constitution it is, of course, constitutional.”
Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom and South Dakota Highway Patrol Colonel Rick Miller are challenging Amendment A, which passed with 54 percent of the vote.
They say the measure was not constitutionally ratified because it creates a new article in the constitution and violates the single subject rule for amendments.
Johnson says Amendment A does have a single subject, which is regulating cannabis in South Dakota.
“We think that falls squarely within bounds of the single subject rule,” Johnson says. In looking at other court decisions, for example, out of Massachusetts and Florida, I think they provide a good outline for the court to follow in terms of recognizing that a subject like cannabis and cannabis regulation does fall under a single subject.”
The challenge is brought in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Hughes County. A hearing date has not been set.
