Hopes to Legalize Pot in South Dakota Go Up in Smoke

A pro-marijuana group hopes that someday it will be legal to light up, but for now it won’t even be on the 2016 election ballot.  They do see Flandreau's Marijuana Resort as a possible alternative.

South Dakotans Against Prohibition Founder Ryan Gaddy says although they didn't get enough signatures for the ballot in 2016, they did see more registered voters signing.

As the date nears for the Flandrea Santee Sioux Tribe’s Marijuana Lounge on New Year’s Eve, Gaddy says there's no way the law can keep up with those who visit, light up and leave the reservation.

Everything that  Attorney General Marty Jackley is pushing against the general public who may be interested in what is going on with the Flandreau resort, the law enforcement doesn't have the time or the resources or the jail space to lock up every person 21 and up that visits that facility.  And really Flandreau is no different than taking a vacation to Colorado, but he's not pushing the headlines that you can't go to Colorado if you're a South Dakota resident.

If the measure would have been successful and would have been approved by voters, possessing up to one ounce of marijuana in South Dakota would no longer be a felony crime.  Adults 18 and older would be subject to a fine of $100.