Editorial Roundup: South Dakota

Yankton Press & Dakotan. November 14, 2022.

Editorial: IM27 Loses This Time, But Problems Remain

Perhaps it only seemed like a little trolling last week when, on the day after South Dakota’s recreational marijuana measure, Initiated Measure 27 (IM27), was defeated at the polls, a spokesman for Protecting South Dakota Kids, which opposed the measure, triumphantly declared in a press release, “The will of the people spoke.”

Of course, IM27 only came about after voters approved recreational marijuana in 2020, but it was then challenged in court at the encouragement of the governor and was scrapped by the state Supreme Court a year ago next week. When the will of the people spoke then, some people refused to heed it.

While the measure was defeated this year, it will likely come back again. Last week, two more states (Maryland and Missouri) voted to legalize recreational cannabis, while North and South Dakota as well as Arkansas voted to keep it illegal. As of now, 21 states, two territories and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for recreational use, while 37 states have legalized medical marijuana. That suggests the issue will come up again as the perception of recreational marijuana continually changes.

In South Dakota, opponents of IM27 cited the threat that marijuana expansion posed to the state. Protecting South Dakota Kids said their effort was to “help prevent recreational marijuana from destroying our families, communities and quality of life.”

The impact of marijuana legalization is (and will continue to be) something THAT lawmakers and community leaders have to address. It is a legitimate concern.

On the other hand, such statements by IM27 foes neglect the blunt fact that what we as a state and a nation are doing now regarding marijuana clearly isn’t working.

One thing IM27 proponents noted during the campaign was that legalization of recreational cannabis would allow the state to regulate the product, as well as collect tax revenue from it. And it would also permit resources to shift from prosecuting and incarcerating those found in possession to other efforts.

Again, what we have been doing has a poor record. The National Institute of Health reported that cannabis use was at an all-time high among college students, as well as young adults in general, in 2020. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use, more than 48 million Americans reported using cannabis at least once in the previous year, with 22.2 million saying they used it every month.

“Marijuana is also surprisingly available to youths, even in middle school,” a report on the study noted. “In 2019, nearly one-third of eighth graders said it would be ‘fairly easy’ or ‘very easy’ to get marijuana. Nearly 60% of 10th graders and over three-quarters of 12th graders said the same.”

One must acknowledge, as the report notes, that efforts to legalize both recreational and medical marijuana in recent years have sent “mixed signals” about the safety and/or dangers of cannabis.

However, perception is one thing; increasing access to cannabis, even at the middle school level, is something else, and this has been an issue for many years.

Also, the legal war on marijuana has resulted in a lot of money and resources being poured into a criminalization/punishment effort that is, frankly, failing. This was evident even before the wave of marijuana legalization began sweeping the country.

A new approach is needed to replace the wreckage of the current policy.

Whether recreational marijuana legalization is the right path — or, how much regulation is needed under legalization — is an open question.

We do know that prohibition and prosecution have not worked.

Among other things, the defeat of IM27 keeps a failing status quo in place. In the long run, that is simply unacceptable. At some point, new approaches must be found.

END