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South Dakota Medical Marijuana Initiative (2016)
| Medical Marijuana Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Initiated state statute |
| Topic | Marijuana on the ballot |
| Not on Ballot |
|---|
 |
| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
The South Dakota Medical Marijuana Initiative did not make the 2016 ballot in South Dakota as an initiated state statute. The measure would have legalized medical marijuana in South Dakota.[1]
Support
Melissa Mentele, the founder of South Dakota Family Coalition for Compassion, crafted the initiative.[1][2]
Supporters
Organizations
- South Dakota Family Coalition for Compassion[1]
Individuals
- Emmett Reistroffer, Denver-based marijuana activist[1]
Path to the ballot
The required number of valid signatures is tied to the number of votes cast for the office of the Governor of South Dakota in the most recent gubernatorial election. Since the initiative was proposed for 2016, the number of required signatures reflected the votes cast in the 2014 gubernatorial election.
Supporters needed to collect 13,870 signatures by the November 9, 2015, deadline. The sponsor of the petition confirmed that 16,543 signatures were submitted, but nearly half of them were deemed invalid.[3][4]
Legal challenge
Supporters filed a lawsuit against South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs, saying that the signatures that were thrown out were never proven to be illegitimate.[5] On August 9, a South Dakota Circuit Court judge rejected the lawsuit.[6]
Related measures
The first attempt to legalize marijuana through the initiative process came in 1972, when California activists got an initiative certified for the ballot. The measure was defeated. Marijuana legalization advocates had their breakthrough election in 2012, when both Washington and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana. Oregonians rejected a legalization measure that same year, but approved one two years later in 2014. As of the beginning of 2016, recreational marijuana had been legalized in four states and Washington, D.C. All legalizations came through the initiative process. As of the beginning of 2016, medical marijuana was legal in 25 states.[7]
More than 60 statewide marijuana-related initiatives were submitted for the 2016 ballot. The table below shows the marijuana-related measures that qualified for the 2016 election ballot:
The following table includes past initiative attempts in the United States to legalize marijuana:
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Argus Leader, "Medical Marijuana gains a strategy in S.D.," November 24, 2014
- ↑ Kristen Mathews, "Email communication with Melissa Mentele," May 24, 2015
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2016 Ballot Questions," accessed December 8, 2015
- ↑ Rapid City Journal, "Medical marijuana won't make state ballot," February 4, 2016
- ↑ Argus Leader, "Medical marijuana backers sue secretary of state," August 2, 2016
- ↑ SDPB Radio, "Court Rejects MMJ Initiated Measure, Group Vows 2018 Return," August 9, 2016
- ↑ ProCon.org, "25 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC," June 28, 2016
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