One legislative leader says the back-and-forth between the governor’s office and state Senate on medical marijuana is not over, yet.
Voters approved Initiated Measure 26 to legalize medical marijuana. Governor Noem’s bill delaying implementation failed in the Legislature.
Republican Lee Schoenbeck heads the Senate. He expects extensive discussions on veto day and the following weeks.
He says if there’s a consensus on the issue, the Legislature will hold a special session before July first.
“The governor’s made it clear to me that unless we tell her we think we can accomplish something on the subject she’s not going to call us back,” Schoenbeck says. “The reason she would want us to be looking at this is the state thinks that IM26, the way it’s drafted, has a host of problems with it that ought to be fixed so we don’t have chaos. If it takes certain concessions on her part to the legislature to avoid chaos she’s willing to have that discussion.”
Voters also approved recreational marijuana. The state is trying to stop that in court. But Governor Noem’s staff has handed lawmakers draft legislation that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession. That would be in exchange for some changes to the voter approved medical-marijuana program.
Schoenbeck says the governor’s draft is the beginning of discussions between the Senate and executive branch.