Introducing Crosswinds Cannabis 2021 Educational Series: A Roadmap for the South Dakota Cannabis Industry
The presentation will be held on Tuesday May 11th 6-8:30pm, and repeated on Thursday June 10th 9-11:30am, and Friday July 9th 2:30-5pm. Each presentation is identical, being offered at multiple times to accommodate different schedules.
Attend in person in Sioux Falls, SD (venue to be announced later) or virtually on Zoom.
I continue to believe it will be a miracle if we will be able to light up a joint legally in South Dakota come July 1, 2021.
As I suspected the first lawsuit cooked up against Amendment ‘A’ may be just the first in a series of suits to be drug out in court for years to come. There are also rough estimates that this first suit has already cost taxpayers around $400K in the state preparing for the legal challenge. The plan is to tie up the Amendment challenge in court so long that the other side just gives up or loses.
There are also these troubling rumors slobbering out of Pierre these days;
• Big Pharma’s sales, most likely for opiates, went down over 30% when MJ became legal in Colorado and our Governor and her family are supposed big investors in Big Pharma and other industries that would be hurt by this plant.
• Even if Amendment ‘A’ wins it’s legal battles the state plans to propose a $700K per year growing permit for those who plan to provide to dispensaries, and another $700K a year to maintain a dispensary.
• While many may take relief in the fact you are allowed to have your own Chia Mary Jane garden in your basement, the state will require you to have a personal permit for that also, which could run in the thousands of dollars. And if you are caught growing in your own home without a permit, severe penalties and possible felonies and jail time.
This fight is going to get ugly, fast.
I still believe that Brendan Johnson wrote the Amendment to be too stringent and give too much power to the legislature and state beaucrats to regulate the crap out of it. I would have made it simple and only had a couple of sentences;
‘A Vote Yes on Constitutional Amendment A would decriminalize the use, sale and distribution of marijuana for recreational or medical use. The state has the right to tax and regulate it but all provisions must be approved by a vote of the people within 1 year. Until such provisions are put into place, all citizens have a right to possess up to 3 plants and an ounce of harvested product – this provision will remain unchanged.’
See, wasn’t that easy?
As I suspected, when the Fascist Fun Hating Right Wingers don’t get their way in an election they go for the jugular;
Before I tear into the core legal arguments, I want to note the weird plaintiffery going on with the election contest Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom and South Dakota Highway Patrol Colonel Rick Miller have filed to block enactment of Amendment A, the marijuana legalization South Dakota voters approved on November 3.
Of course, this is NO surprise. I predicted before they even gathered one signature if this got passed the Fun Hating elite in South Dakota would go after it in the courts.
If you read Cory’s finely written posts about it, on it’s face, I would agree with him, the case is very weak. Heck even the SD Chamber agrees. But what makes this so arrogant and a rat fink move is simple;
• Public officials are using public money to overturn a public vote.
This should even piss off the biggest of Anti-Pot folks. It seems the SD Fascist Republican Party and it’s stooges are just fine with your public vote when you are expanding gambling or electing a super majority to the legislature and constitutional offices, but when someone wants to smoke a left-handed cigarette, that’s a no no.
I have never understood why they have been okay with holding this super majority for over 4 decades (from a vote of the people) but when these actual voters want something for themselves like a minimum wage increase, corruption reform or to get rid of pay day lenders, the vote seems out of whack and misguided.
It’s something we call hypocrisy folks.
And as for legal pot, I’m afraid the only place you will probably even see a glimpse of it in our state by July 1st will be on the reservations where the tribes have been preparing for this for years.
Even if you don’t want to partake, I get it, but I still maintain these truths to be self-evident;
• People are currently using pot in our state, the arrest records show this. They will continue no matter how these challenges turn out. They mostly get it from Colorado. So why do we continue to fill the coffers of the state of Colorado when we can fill the coffers here, while freeing up millions in justice related costs? It’s fricking baffling. Just like the rats that are constantly trying to kill our fun in South Dakota. Now go to Deadwood and bet on your favorite sports team, that’ll get you high.
I only got one prediction correct this election season, that Amendment ‘A’ for Recreational Mary would pass with 52-54% of the vote. Before Tuesday many asked me what I based that number on. It was simple. Amendment A has been polling since July at around 51%. I figured since that polling number stayed consistent over that many months it would pass. I added the extra percentage points because some people tend to lie about voting for making drugs legal. I know, weird!
What I want to remind legislators, unlike their argument for repealing IM22, South Dakotans knew what they were voting for with Rec Mary. It is a drug that used to be legal in this country about 80 years ago Federally. It is also a plant that has been used for thousands of years throughout the world. Trust me, when South Dakotans said they want this, they want it, it should not be misconstrued. Every state so far that has moved towards legalization has NOT overturned their position, there is a reason for that.
I have no doubt the Fascist Republican Party that now has an overwhelming majority in the State Legislature will regulate the piss out of it virtually making it unavailable in a dispensary, but the good news is you will still be able to possess it, use it and grow it. I expect the only retail to cash in on legalization will be hardware stores, since many people will be gardening from home.
I think it is foolish for the state or local entities to deny dispensaries because they will be missing out on the sales tax revenue. I also think this will just drive people to buy from the black market (these folks don’t pay taxes).
It is hard to understand how South Dakotans can do something so smart as legalize a pretty harmless drug, but continue to vote for legislators who want to take away our other rights. But if our lawmakers try to F’ck with Amendment ‘A’ like they did with IM22, there will be Hell to pay.
If you thought the lies the radical right wingnuts were spreading about Pat Starr were outrageous, it gets even better. While they may not be lying about what the ATF says about marijuana drug use, I have to say this is a pretty big steeretcccch;
In the current version of form 4473, on the BATF website, Question 21e, it asks firearm purchasers “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.â€
First off folks, whether recreational Mary Jane becomes legal in our state or not, I’m sure it will have ZERO affect on gun owners who currently use or will use in the future. It would be like telling out-of-state hunters we won’t issue them licenses anymore if they are drinking while hunting or enjoying some ‘ladies of the night’ after the hunt. I can just hear Bob the Banker from West Virginia, “Do you think I come to South Dakota every year to hunt a dumb Chinese bird that tastes like crap!? I come to hunt alright, but it’s a different kind of tail.â€
So while the law may be factual and true, I doubt many gun owners will be calling the ATF to let them know that they are now buying pot legally instead of off the black market.
This is the kind of ridiculous crap the extreme radical right opposition cooks up, and what makes it even more funny is they think it will deter people. The people who already think like you are already voting against Amendment A, guns or not.
But hey, as I told someone today, one more reason to vote for Amendment A; Gun Control. And I would rather see more pot plants and less guns in our state any day of the week.
l3wis