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PIERRE, SD (AP) – A South Dakota judge on Monday overturned a voter-approved constitutional amendment that legalized recreational marijuana after Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration challenged it.
Circuit judge Christina Klinger ruled that the measure approved by voters in November violated the state’s requirement that the constitutional amendments address only one topic and would have created sweeping changes in state government .
“Amendment A is a review because it has far-reaching effects on the fundamental nature of South Dakota’s system of government,” she wrote in her ruling.
Brendan Johnson, who sponsored the amendment and represented a pro-marijuana group in court, said he was preparing an appeal to the South Dakota Supreme Court.
Two law enforcement officers, Col. Rick Miller Superintendent of Highway Patrol and Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom, have filed a lawsuit to block the legalization by challenging its constitutionality. Miller was effectively acting on behalf of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who had opposed the push to legalize the pot.
Klinger was appointed a circuit court judge by Noem in 2019.
“Today’s ruling protects and safeguards our constitution,” Noem said in a statement. “I have no doubts that the South Dakota Supreme Court, if asked to weigh its weight as well, will come to the same conclusion.”
Thom also praised the move, saying it “solidifies the protections” of a 2018 constitutional amendment that required further amendments to stick to one topic.
In his ruling, Klinger said legalizing marijuana would have affected business licensing, taxation and cultivation of hemp. The amendment would have given the state Revenue Department the power to administer recreational marijuana, but Klinger ruled that by doing so it was overstepping the authority of the executive and legislative branches of government.
Lawyers defending legalization had presented the trial as an effort to overturn the results of a fair election. About 54% of voters approved of recreational marijuana in November.
Possession of small amounts of marijuana would have become legal on July 1, but that will only happen if a higher court overturns the decision.
Marijuana has become widely accepted in the United States, with a Gallup poll in November showing that 68% of Americans were in favor of legalization. South Dakota was among four states this month to approve recreational marijuana, along with New Jersey, Arizona and Montana. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have done so.
Advocates have argued that legalization creates jobs and raises taxes for governments in dire need of them. Opponents argued that marijuana leads to the use of harder drugs and can also lead to drunk driving and other crimes.
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