SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A measure to legalize recreational marijuana in South Dakota failed in the 2024 general election, making the state *0-3 in its attempts to gain access to adult-use recreational cannabis.

Minnehaha County’s general election certified

Let’s take a look back.

2020

The asterisk in that 0-3 record is due to the circumstances surrounding the first serious push for recreational marijuana; Constitutional Amendment A in 2020.

Amendment A sought to accomplish three goals, which was ultimately its undoing: legalize marijuana and compel the legislature to pass laws regarding both hemp and access to medical marijuana.

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The people of South Dakota responded well to this triple mandate, passing Amendment A by 54% with a vote of 225,229 to 190,466, but it was not to last.

In November 2021, a year after voters approved the amendment, the South Dakota Supreme Court struck it down, ruling 4-1 that the amendment violated the single subject requirement in the South Dakota Constitution.

The court noted that Amendment A asked voters to legalize recreational marijuana, medical marijuana and hemp and that the measure did not allow for them to choose yes or no on these individually.

A separate measure in 2020, Initiated Measure 26, legalized medical marijuana independently, winning 70% of the vote.

2022

Cannabis advocates took another crack at recreational marijuana in 2022, this time via Initiated Measure 27. This too would fail.

IM27, which would have legalized the possession, use and distribution of marijuana, avoided the pitfalls of Amendment A, but could not muster the the votes that the prior attempt had garnered.

The measure fell short, with 53% of voters opposing it in a 163,584 to 183,879 vote loss amid a mid-term election that saw more than 68,000 fewer votes cast in the race than had been made in the Amendment A race two years prior.

Advocates of the measure at the time chalked the failure up to the lower voter turnout associated with midterms and set their eyes forward to the next general election.

THC drinks becoming more common in Sioux Falls

2024

The 2024 general election did in fact bring about greater voter turnout, but it did not bring a repeat of the election results from 2020 for the pro-recreational campaign.

Initiated Measure 29 was a re-run of sorts of IM27, this time aiming to legalize the use, possession, distribution and growth of recreational marijuana.

Those behind IM29 reported anxiety in the lead-up to the vote count, some optimistic, and some just outright anxious. That anxiety was justified as results came in, with yes votes on IM29 trailing no votes statewide the entire night.

The final result; a loss of 189,816 to 237,102, with 56% of voters rejecting the measure, three percent more than in 2022, making this the worst defeat for recreational marijuana at the ballot box thus far.