2020

I believe Recreational Marijuana will pass

l3wis January 25, 2020 7Comments

I have been saying for quite awhile that I think recreational will pass in November, but maybe not medical. BUT, it is important for medical to pass also so children with severe cases of epilepsy can get treatment without the high of THC. Recreational can only be sold to those 21 and older.

I have joked with people, Recreational will pass similar to Trump becoming president, people support it and will vote for it, but they won’t tell anyone. I think polling will be way off on the topic. I also think opposition to recreational is going to have a hard time arguing against these benefits;

But 2020 is a long way away from 2010 when it comes to marijuana policy. As we’ve noted, dozens of states have reformed their laws and the world didn’t come to an end. Some have tapped into the revenue source of legal, taxed marijuana. The measure that voters here will consider includes a requirement that marijuana be taxed at 15%, half of which is earmarked for public education.

Besides the tax, you also have to take into account that we will no longer be paying for crimes associated with marijuana. This could be upwards of $100 million dollar windfall to the state with the savings and additional tax money involved. We can bitch all we want about the negative of Rec Mary Jane, but the tax revenue will be significant, especially since Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming and Minnesota don’t have legal weed. Yes, they will be crossing the border to buy it.

When he ran the medical marijuana campaign a decade ago, Emmett Reistroffer recalls that he had scant resources. The campaign raised about $100,000 in cash, and Reistroffer had about $200,000 in in-kind contributions from supporters. It wasn’t enough to mount a serious statewide campaign, especially when the issue was drowned out by political spending in the U.S. House and governor’s races.

Today, the Sioux Falls native works as a consultant in the industry, based out of Las Vegas. Reistroffer said he hopes to play a role in this year’s election by raising funds for the legalization effort. If the campaign can raise $1 million by June, he thinks it might have a shot.

“This is not a slam dunk,” he said.

I helped Emmett with his efforts a decade ago. Promoting the campaign on the blog and assisting in graphic design. I knew in my heart it would fail, but we were all pretty surprised it only failed by a slim margin.

While I think SD has gotten more conservative in the neither lands outside of Sioux Falls, I think Sioux Falls is much more progressive and could carry this measure. I also believe that there is probably more Republicans that smoke pot than Democrats (well because there are more of them). I don’t think the public is naive on this topic. I think most agree that when it comes to mind altering drugs, marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol, not as harmful physically and natural. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure that out.

I once heard a comedian ask the question, “Please raise your hand if you think marijuana is more harmful than bacon?” No one raised their hands, and he quips, “What? No bacon defenders?” So if this passes, I might just start a new business selling marijuana infused bacon. We all need to live a little – right?