Drug Overcriminalization Amicus

Brief in Support of Defendant

Supreme Court of South Dakota

In this amicus brief, we argue that challenges by state officials against the legalization of adult use marijuana in South Dakota should be rejected. Although federal law prohibits marijuana consumption, South Dakota’s drug law reforms are supported by long-standing precedent. Thirteen other states have legalized adult use of cannabis through ballot initiatives and federal officials have consistently practiced non-intervention in regard to these reforms.

Filed with Cato Institute, DKT Liberty Project, and Reason Foundation.

The Supreme Court of South Dakota ruled that Amendment A, the ballot initiative that legalized adult marijuana use, violates Article XXIII. You can read the decision from November 24, 2021 here.

We thank Patrick J. Lee-O’Halloran Thompson of Tarasek Lee-O’Halloran PLLC for his pro bono work on this case.