Two years ago in South Dakota, 54 percent of voters approved a constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana. But that measure was overturned by the South Dakota Supreme Court for technical reasons, and this year voters seem to have had second thoughts. With 89 percent of ballots reported, 53 percent of voters had said no to Measure 27, which would have allowed adults 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in public and grow up to three plants at home if they lived in jurisdictions without state-licensed retailers.
Unlike the 2020 initiative, Measure 27 would not have created a legal cannabis industry to serve the recreational market. So unless the state legislature decided to authorize commercial production and distribution, homegrown marijuana would have been the only legal source for recreational consumers. But beginning on July 1, Measure 27 would have eliminated criminal and civil penalties for possession and cultivation within the specified limits.
