South Dakota Supreme Court strikes down voter-approved marijuana legalization

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that nullified a voter-passed amendment to the state constitution that would have legalized recreational marijuana use.

Gov. Kristi Noem instigated the legal fight to strike down the amendment passed by voters in November.

The Republican governor opposed marijuana legalization as a social ill, but her administration argued in court that the amendment would have broken technical rules of the state constitution.

The state Supreme Court sided with those arguments, ruling Wednesday that the measure would have violated the state’s requirement that constitutional amendments deal with just one subject.