South Dakota AG Abandons Effort To Defend Adult-Use Marijuana Initiative
State AG offices are obligated to defend state laws that come under legal attack
The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office is dropping its defense of a voter-approved adult-use marijuana amendment after earlier asserting in court that the initiative was constitutional.
The AG’s decision comes after a circuit court judge appointed by Gov. Kristi Noem ruled that the initiative is unconstitutional, setting up an appeal by legalization backers to the state Supreme Court.
State AG offices are obligated to defend state laws that come under legal attack.
But Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s office said in a statement that he fulfilled that obligation by defending the initiative in lower court and won’t take those efforts any further, according to the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls.
The Marijuana Policy Project, which helped lead the South Dakota legalization campaign, criticized the decision.
“It’s difficult to understand when he (Ravnsborg) argued clearly that it (the initiative) was lawful,” Matt Schweich, deputy director of MPP, told Marijuana Business Daily on Monday.
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