South Dakota Supreme Court rules against pot legalization

PIERRE, S.D. – 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, 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.