Cannabis Legalization is Challenging Democracy in Many States

Lawmakers in South Dakota seem to believe they know what’s best for the citizens of their state. In fact, so much that they will overturn a democratic vote because they disapproved of it. The last I checked, democracy meant that elected politicians were supposed to support the will of the people, not their own private agendas. This is obviously not the case in South Dakota. There is a similar disturbance in the force happening in Mississippi as well. What do we do about lawmakers that believe their opinion is more valuable than that of the people? It’s one thing to think your opinion is better than others, but it is another to overturn a majority vote because you don’t agree with it.

What Just Happened to Democracy in South Dakota?

In South Dakota, recreational cannabis was voted on, and it passed. Amendment A was voted on and passed with 54% of voters in South Dakota in favor of a constitutional amendment that legalized retail cannabis in the state. Adult residents in the state of South Dakota would have been allowed to license, grow, and sell cannabis. It was a great day for people across South Dakota. A day seems to be all it lasted. In no time at all, a South Dakota circuit judge rejected the people’s vote. The South Dakota circuit judge Christina Klinger was appointed by the state’s Governor Kristi Noem who is notoriously anti-cannabis. Judge Klinger rejected the ruling on the basis of it being unconstitutional. Klinger said that Amendment A would have far-reaching effects on the basic nature of the state’s government to the point of it being unconstitutional.

Apparently, this judge believes 54% of the voting population in South Dakota supports unconstitutional laws in their state. It also seems that this judge feels it would be easier to just ignore voters than deal with the changes in policy and enforcement it would bring. Of course, the ruling will be challenged in the state supreme court. A lawyer representing South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws is already planning to appeal the ruling.

Similar Occurrences Across the United States

Citizens in South Dakota are not alone. In similar occurrences, Idaho just pulled an asinine move attempting a constitutional ban of cannabis in the state, and Mississippi residents are facing a very similar situation.

Mississippi Legalization Challenged By the American Medical Association

In Mississippi, medical cannabis was voted on and passed. The opposition spoke their mind, and groups like The American Medical Association tried to convince residents and voters that legal cannabis was no good for the state. That is not the way voters saw it, though. Now that the vote has passed, the American Medical Association has asked the court to overturn the vote citing significant risk to public health. Perhaps they prefer you take your valium, Xanax, Prozac, methadone suckers, or oxycontin, suck down your Suboxone and be a good citizen.

Idaho Senate Votes Yes on Constitutional Ban Against Cannabis in the State

In Idaho, the senate majority voted in favor of a constitutional ban against the legalization of cannabis, solidifying Idaho’s claim to being the only state in the United States with absolutely no tolerance for cannabis in any form whatsoever for any use. It seems they like it when people comply. When the people vote against the will of lawmakers, these lawmakers show their true colors. It’s sad to see that freedom isn’t freedom anymore. No wonder people question elections. When something as simple as a solid vote passes and can be easily overturned or attempt to be overturned by individuals wasting countless amounts of revenue, it is a sad day. There are so many more issues at hand we should be focusing on.

Legalization Can Address the Serious Issues

Ironically, many of the other issues we could be dealing with instead of wasting time legalizing, banning, and challenging appeals could be significantly impacted by simply legalizing cannabis as it should be once and for all. If we were to legalize, we could utilize the funds to help our economies in unthinkable ways. We could utilize hemp for the thousands of products it could produce that currently depend on deforestation to be manufactured. By mass planting cannabis and hemp around the world, we could also start to clean our air and soil. This is just the tip of the iceberg and to see lawmakers and organizations such as the ones mentioned above challenging the vote of residents in these states is utterly maddening.

We waste hundreds of thousands if not millions of taxpayers’ dollars each and every year on housing nonviolent cannabis offenders, challenging the draconian laws of prohibition, and now it seems we are wasting them having to challenge lawmakers that feel they should challenge voters simply because they do not agree. Representatives are supposed to represent. It seems these days, like many in the past, our so-called representatives seem to be representing their own agendas rather than the viewpoints and wishes of their constituents.