SDBML Update: South Dakota Senate Amends and Passes House Bill 1100

Written By Quincy Hanzen

Today, the South Dakota Senate amended and passed House Bill 1100. They retained the mercy amendment (limited legal protections for medical marijuana patients) and also added a new decriminalization policy to the bill (up to one ounce of marijuana flower and up to eight grams of concentrate will not be a crime for people 21 and older -- regardless of medical status).

So, not only did we keep the mercy amendment for medical marijuana patients, but now we have added decriminalization for all adults. This is a major improvement to the bill.

Now the bill heads back to the House. If the House rejects the new version of HB 1100, then it will go to a conference committee.

Given the significant opposition in Pierre, today was an excellent result for marijuana reform advocates in South Dakota, the result of months of intense grassroots activism and legislative lobbying.

These nine State Senators voted to strip the mercy amendment from HB 1100: Bolin, Cammack, Duhamel, Duvall, David Johnson, Novstrup, Sutton, Wiik, and Zikmund (note: some of these Senators voted yes on the final version of HB 1100).

Here is how each State Senator voted on the final version of HB 1100:

Quincy Hanzen
Previous

Legal Team for Amendment A Files First Round of Arguments With the SD Supreme Court
Next

AP: Pot Advocates Cry Foul on Noem Using State Funds for Lawsuit