South Dakota voters have chosen to keep recreational marijuana illegal, rejecting Measure 29 in Tuesday’s election.
The initiative would have allowed those 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and grow up to 12 plants for personal use. Measure 29 also proposed establishing licensed marijuana retail outlets to serve adults, which would have allowed the state to regulate and tax cannabis sales. With the measure’s defeat, these provisions will not take effect.
This decision marks the third time South Dakota has faced a setback in efforts to legalize recreational marijuana. Voters approved a similar measure in 2020, but it was subsequently overturned by the courts, citing procedural issues. In 2022, voters defeated a similar measure, with many analysts attributing the loss to lower voter turnout given it wasn’t a presidential election. Measure 29 was crafted to address the concerns outlined in that ruling while retaining the 2020 initiative’s core objectives. Nonetheless, a majority of voters did not support the proposal in this election.
With South Dakota and Florida’s decision to reject legalization, the count of states that have legalized recreational marijuana remains at 24.
An initiative to legalize marijuana in North Dakota still has a chance at passage, but at the time of publication is trailing with 47% support, with around 20% of votes counted.
Editor’s note: At the time of publication votes are still being counted, but based on a detailed examination of election data The Marijuana Herald is confident in saying that voters will reject Measure 29.
