Jackley joins opposition to Biden Administration’s proposal to reclassify marijuana

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has joined several other state attorney generals to oppose President Biden’s proposal to reclassify Marijuana from a schedule one drug to a schedule three drug.

If Biden’s proposal is approved this is a step towards legalizing marijuana on the federal level.

Jackley emphasized that the reason he is opposed is because he believes voters should be able to make that decision themselves.

”The first is, we strongly believe that our voters should decide the legalization of marijuana. Here in South Dakota in 2020, the voters approved medical marijuana, this November the voters will have an opportunity to determine whether or not recreational marijuana is legal here in South Dakota,” Jackley said.

Jackley explained that the state attorney generals believe that this isn’t the best time to reclassify marijuana.

”Again, I’m a believer that the states are in the process of determining whether or not medical and recreational marijuana are legal. And that was one of the points that the attorney generals made to Garland. We’re right in the middle of making those determinations, and that its really not good timing for the Attorney General of the United States to move forward without the support of the DEA apparently,” Jackley said.

For now, South Dakota law will not change before the next legislative session in January 2025.

Puffy’s Dispensary CEO Kittrick Jeffries said that this change would make it so “medical marijuana patients shouldn’t go to prison for small amounts of marijuana.”