South Dakota Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative After Third Attempt From Advocates

South Dakota voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal to legalize adult-use marijuana.

While voters approved a legalization measure at the ballot in 2020, it was subsequently overturned by the state Supreme Court. Another reform proposal was rejected by voters in 2022.

Advocates held out hope that the third time would be the charm, but that victory didn’t materialize.

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What Measure 29 would have accomplished:

• The initiative would have allowed adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to two ounces of cannabis.

• Adults could have also grown up to six plants per person for personal use, which was up from three plants in the 2022 version.

• There was also a 12-plant maximum per shared living household—double the prior six-plant limit.

What polls said about voters’ preferences:

The more recent polling on the South Dakota measure hadn’t gone in the pro-legalization campaign’s direction.

An Emerson College/KELOLAND/The Hill survey from last month found that about 50 percent of likely voters opposed the cannabis measure, while 45 percent supported it and 5 percent remained undecided.

A separate survey from June also found the initiative trailing, with 52 percent of voters opposing the reform and 42 percent in support.

2024 campaign:

For months leading up to the measure’s certification, it was unclear whether South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws’s (SDBML) grassroots efforts would be able reach the signature threshold for ballot placement, as national industry and philanthropic financial support has been negligible this cycle. But the campaign ultimately succeeded in qualifying the initiative.

In December, the secretary of state’s office approved a circulator handout submitted by SDBML, a requirement that has allowed the campaign to deploy paid canvassers to gather signatures along with its grassroots network of volunteers who have been distributing petitions.

The campaign material simply features the state attorney general’s title and explanation of the ballot measure, which was finalized in August.

After state officials confirmed that the legalization measure qualified for the ballot this summer, South Dakota’s Republican party adopted a policy expressing “strong opposition” to the measure, and two Catholic dioceses similarly urged voters to reject the initiative.

Past legislative South Dakota cannabis reform efforts:

After voters approved a medical cannabis legalization initiative in 2020, the governor tried to get the legislature to approve a bill to delay implementation for an additional year. But while it cleared the House, negotiators were unable to reach an agreement with the Senate in conference, dealing a defeat to the governor.

In response, Gov. Kristi Noem’s (D) office started exploring a compromise, with one proposal that came out of her administration to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis, limit the number of plants that patients could cultivate to three and prohibit people under 21 from qualifying for medical marijuana.

In the 2022 legislative session, the House rejected a legalization bill that the Senate had passed, effectively leaving it up to activists to get on the ballot again.

A Marijuana Interim Study Committee, headed by legislative leaders, was established to explore cannabis policy reform, and the panel in November 2021 recommended that the legislature take up legalization. The House-defeated legislation was one of the direct products of that recommendation.

The governor separately signed a bill into law in February that will require patients to check off a box on medical marijuana card applications affirming that they’re aware that federal law prohibits cannabis consumers from buying and possessing firearms.

Live 2024 Marijuana Election Results

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.