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South Dakota Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2018)
| South Dakota Initiated Measure 27 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Marijuana | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The South Dakota Initiated Measure 27 was not put on the ballot in South Dakota as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have legalized the possession, consumption, cultivation, processing, transportation, and purchase of marijuana for persons 21 years of age or older. The measure would also have established a possession amount of one ounce of marijuana and five marijuana plants, as well as products of the marijuana plants. A marijuana excise tax would have been established, with a tax of $50 per ounce of marijuana flowers, $15 per ounce of other marijuana parts, and $25 per immature marijuana plant.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | An initiated measure to legalize certain amounts of marijuana, drugs made from marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and to regulate and tax marijuana establishments.[2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary was as follows:[1]
| “ | The measure makes it lawful under the laws of a political subdivision (county, city, etc.) to possess, grow, use, process, purchase, transport, or distribute certain amounts of marijuana and drugs made from marijuana. This includes some drugs that are felony controlled substances under existing state law. It also legalizes drug paraphernalia for people over age 21.
The measure prevents the State from seizing or forfeiting assets of a person involved in manufacturing, possessing, transporting, or trafficking certain amounts of marijuana or some kinds of controlled substances. The measure authorizes local jurisdictions and the State Department of Revenue to regulate marijuana establishments. It imposes an excise tax payable by marijuana cultivation facilities for marijuana sales to other establishments. For people who have already been convicted or incarcerated for nonviolent drug-related offenses that this measure legalizes, their cases must be reviewed or sentences commuted. With limited exceptions, the acts described in the measure would remain illegal under State or Federal law. This 35-section measure has numerous conflicts with other state laws and within the measure itself. Because its full scope and effect are unclear, judicial or legislative clarification will likely be necessary. A court may find portions of the measure unconstitutional.[2] |
” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
In South Dakota, supporters must send proposed initiatives to the South Dakota Legislative Research Council (LRC) for review. Proponents then send the proposal to the attorney general's office to have a ballot title and summary drafted. This information is forwarded to the secretary of state. Supporters can start signature collection as early as two years before the targeted election, and signatures must be submitted at least one year before the targeted election. Signature requirements in South Dakota are based on the total number of votes cast in the state's most recent gubernatorial election. A number of signatures equal to 5 percent of this total is necessary for qualifying initiatives for the 2018 ballot. Supporters needed to collect and submit at least 13,871 valid signatures by November 6, 2017, in order to qualify an initiative for the 2018 ballot. Since no signatures were submitted by the deadline, the measure was not put on the 2018 ballot.
The LRC received the proposed initiative on January 9, 2017, and issued comments.[3] Following the LRC's review, proponents provided a second draft of the initiative on January 27, 2017.[4] The attorney general issued a ballot title and summary for the initiative on March 27, 2017.[1]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 South Dakota Secretary of State, "AG's Statement," March 27, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "LRC Comments," January 9, 2017
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Sponsor Draft #2," January 27, 2017
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State of South Dakota Pierre (capital) |
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