Dead yesterday. Alive today.
After South Dakota House State Affairs Committee members voted 8-3 on Feb. 28 to defeat an adult-use cannabis bill, the legislation is back up and kicking on March 1 via a “smoke out” vote.
RELATED: South Dakota Adult-Use Bill Defeated; Ballot Measure’s Weight Amplifies
Rep. Greg Jamison, a Sioux Falls Republican, gathered 25 colleagues in the 70-member chamber for the political maneuver that has revived Senate Bill 3, which aims to legalized up to 1 ounce of cannabis for adult use in the state. It was passed by the Senate via an 18-17 vote last week.
Under the smoke-out rule, 24 members needed to be onboard with bringing the bill back to life.
Jamison now needs a 36-member majority for the full House to consider the bill, according to Keloland’s Bob Mercer.
Afterward, House Speaker Spencer Gosch, a Glenham Republican, told the chamber, “Just for the record, we’re smoking out a weed bill.”
A vote is expected tomorrow, according to advocacy group South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML)
The legislative effort comes after 54.2% of South Dakota voters approved an amendment to legalized adult-use cannabis in the November 2020 election. That ballot measure was struck down by a circuit court judge on the basis of the state’s single-subject rule. The South Dakota Supreme Court upheld that decision in November 2021.
If the current legislation fails, then SDBML will continue its signature-gathering path toward another initiative for the 2022 ballot, campaign director Matthew Schweich previously told Cannabis Business Times
