FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   Tuesday, May 17, 2017    
CONTACT:  Sara Rabern (605) 773-3215

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today an Attorney General Explanation for a proposed initiated measure has been filed with the Secretary of State. This statement will appear on a petition that will be circulated by the sponsor of the measure.  If the sponsor obtains a sufficient number of signatures (13,871) by November 6, 2017, as certified by the Secretary of State, the measure will be placed on the ballot for the November 2018 general election.

The measure is entitled “An initiated measure to legalize all quantities of marijuana and to make other changes to State law involving marijuana.”

Under South Dakota law, the Attorney General is responsible for preparing explanations for proposed initiated measures, referred laws, and South Dakota Constitutional Amendments. Specifically, the explanation includes a title, an objective, clear and simple summary of the purpose and effect of the proposed measure and a description of the legal consequences. The Attorney General Explanation is not a statement either for or against the proposed measure.

To view the Attorney General Explanation for the measure, as well as the final form of the measure submitted to this office, please click on the link:

AG Statement -  Initiated Measure to Legalize All Quantities of Marijuana

To date the Attorney General has released Attorney General Explanations for the following:

1. An initiated measure requiring students to use rooms designated for the same biological sex, and requiring public schools to provide a reasonable accommodation for students whose gender identity is not the same as their biological sex
2. An initiated measure authorizing a South Dakota-licensed physician to prescribe drugs that a terminally ill patient may take for the purpose of ending life
3. An initiated measure to legalize marijuana for medical use
4. An initiated measure to legalize certain amounts of marijuana, drugs made from marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and to regulate and tax marijuana establishments
5. An initiated measure requiring people to use certain rooms designated for the same biological sex

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