It’s hard to find anyone in Pierre who isn’t singing praises for Governor Dennis Daugaard’s reforms of the state’s criminal justice system.
But there are some critics who say current legislation needs to go further when it comes to reforming the state’s heavy handed drug laws.
Emmitt Reistroffer is among those who support the bulk of the Governor’s Public Safety Improvement Act. But, he is also an advocate for the reformation of marijuana laws. His organization, South Dakota Families First is lobbying to see the act go further in reducing penalties for marijuana use.
“But right off the bat at the workgroup last summer the Governor’s staff came in and said no discussion about decriminalizing or legalizing drugs it’s just off the table and it ended up happening anyway because some workgroup members were just adamant about that,” says Reistroffer
Reistroffer says there are about three thousand marijuana related arrests each year in South Dakota. But he says the prohibition of pot has totally failed to reduce its consumption. He points to Colorado where marijuana is now regulated and taxed like alcohol. The new tax revenue is going to Colorado schools – and he says regulating pot is a better way to keep it out of the hands of kids.