The South Dakota House and Senate are stalling on negotiations that delay the implementation of a voter approved medical marijuana program.
The current bill pushes back implementation until January first of 20-22. It also decriminalizes marijuana possession of up to an ounce, strips possession by ingestion and adds patient protections until next year.
Spencer Gosch is the Republican Speaker of the House. He criticizes the approach by the Senate.
“I’m confused as to where the actual stance is,” Gosch says. “I think I know where it’s at more so—the actual legalization of marijuana, rather than the issue at hand. I’m having a hard time understanding, are we going to uphold IM16, or are we going to start grinding some sausage because we want something.”
Moments after Gosch’s remarks a conference committee failed to hash out any disagreements between the two chambers.
Speaker Gosch proposed an amendment that’s very similar to what voters approved in November. But Senate lawmakers rejected the idea.
This paves the way for one of the two chambers to reject the bill. That means the voter approved Initiated Measure 26 allowing a medical marijuana program could become law by July 1 of this year.