About us
We are South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (“SDBML”), a nonprofit political organization working to improve cannabis laws in South Dakota.
With the help of allies, volunteers, donors, and supporters, SDBML has been highly effective at reforming South Dakota’s cannabis laws and defending the ballot initiative process since forming in the fall of 2019.
In 2020, we spearheaded the campaign that passed Amendment A (cannabis legalization for adults) and Initiated Measure 26 (medical cannabis legalization) on Election Day.
November 4, 2019 – Staff and volunteers submit petitions for Amendment A and Measure 26 to South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett at the State Capitol in Pierre, SD.
In the years following our historic victory, we played a leading role in the grassroots legislative campaigns that defended the medical cannabis law established by Initiated Measure 26. This included our successful effort in 2021 to defeat Governor Noem’s bill to delay implementation of the medical cannabis law approved by 70% of voters.
In the fall of 2021, the South Dakota Supreme Court repealed Amendment A in a ruling that we consider to be deeply flawed and unjust. Since then, we have been working to restore the will of the people by legalizing cannabis for a second time.
From October 2021 to May 2022, we ran the signature drive that successfully qualified a cannabis legalization initiative – now known as Initiated Measure 27 – for the November 8, 2022 ballot.
May 4, 2022 – Staff and volunteers submit petitions for Measure 27 to South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett at the State Capitol in Pierre, SD.
After that, we joined a coalition of groups campaigning against Amendment C, which was overwhelmingly defeated 33% to 67% in the South Dakota Primary Election on June 7, 2022. Amendment C was a sneak attack on the initiative process by politicians in Pierre and posed a potential legal threat to Measure 27.
Over the course of 2022, we ran the Yes on 27 recreational cannabis legalization campaign, which was unfortunately defeated in a low-turnout election. SDBML continued to fight for the rights of medical cannabis patients in South Dakota while also leading efforts to legalize cannabis for adults twenty-one years of age and older and restore the will of the people.
In the spring of 2024, we ran the signature drive in support of a proposed cannabis legalization initiated measure. Our campaign needed to collect 17,508 valid signatures from South Dakota voters in order to qualify for the November ballot. We submitted 22,558 valid signatures and our initiative is now known as Measure 29. Measure 29 will be voted on by South Dakotans on November 5, 2024.
May 7, 2022 – Staff and volunteers submit petitions for Measure 29 to South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson at the State Capitol in Pierre, SD.
