South Dakota Initiated Measure 26 was a 2020 voterinitiative to legalizemedical cannabis in the U.S. state ofSouth Dakota. The initiative was certified by theSouth Dakota Secretary of State for the 2020 ballot on December 19, 2019.[1][2] The sponsor of the initiative was New Approach South Dakota, a volunteer group headed by Melissa Mentele.[3] The group had unsuccessfully tried to get an initiative on the 2018 ballot.[4][5] Polling in September 2020 indicated 70% voter support for the initiative.[6]
On November 3, 2020, the initiative passed with 70% approval. With the passage ofConstitutional Amendment A on the same ballot, South Dakota would have become the first state in US history to legalize recreational and medical cannabis simultaneously, but Amendment A was struck down as unconstitutional the following February, pending a higher court's ruling.[7][8]
After the election, South Dakota governorKristi Noem requested the state legislature delay the implementation of IM 26 from July 2021 until 2022, ostensibly to give the state more time to prepare due to complications stemming from theCOVID-19 pandemic. State House members agreed to reduce the proposed delay from July 2021 until January 2022 and subsequently passed Noem's legislation, but disagreements with the Senate over an amendment to the bill legalizing personal possession of cannabis resulted in the collapse of legislative negotiations on medical marijuana. IM 26 is therefore scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2021, as originally planned.[9]
On November 24, 2021, the South Dakota Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that nullified the voter-passed amendment to the state constitution.[10]
