South Dakota adult-use marijuana initiative could pass in 2024, poll shows

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If an adult-use marijuana initiative made it back to South Dakota voters for a third time in 2024, it could pass, according to a new poll.

The SDSU Poll, conducted by a nonpartisan research hub at the School of American and Global Studies at South Dakota State University, found that 49% of the 747 registered voters it surveyed are in favor of adult-use legalization, Sioux Falls TV station KELO reported.

The opposition to recreational legalization made up 41% of the surveyed group, and 10% were ambivalent.

In November, 53% of voters opposed a measure that would have allowed adults to use and possess homegrown marijuana.

In 2021, a lawsuit led to the defeat of an adult-use legalization measure that 54% of voters had approved the previous year.

According to the SDSU Poll, 73.9% of voters participated in the 2020 vote compared to only 59.4% of voters in 2022.

In the 2022 election in which they rejected adult use, South Dakota voters approved a medical marijuana market.

MMJ sales in the state commenced last July.