South Dakota voters approved a law in 2020 legalizing the medical use of marijuana, four years after rejecting the idea. Separately in 2020, voters approved an amendment to the South Dakota Constitution to legalize recreational use, but the state Supreme Court nullified it. Voters rejected another proposal in 2022.

South Dakota voted ‘No’ on IM 29, which would have allowed adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow, ingest and distribute recreational marijuana.

Voters in South Dakota and North Dakota have rejected a ballot measure meant to legalize recreational marijuana.

A ballot measure to legalize adult recreational marijuana use in South Dakota was losing in unofficial results. The tally was 56% against Initiated Measure 29 and 44% in favor at 4 p.m. Central time Wednesday,

The ratio of Republicans to Democrats is similarly lopsided in North Dakota, where the GOP has likewise maintained a trifecta since 1995. And as in South Dakota, voters are fine with medical marijuana, which they approved by a 28-point margin in 2016, but leery of recreational legalization, which they rejected in 2018 and 2022.

Votes continue to trickle in across South Dakota as polls have closed across the state but with 89% of the precincts reporting, Initiated Measure 29 has been defeated. IM29 would have legalized the possession,

Recreational marijuana will remain illegal in South Dakota. Voters rejected Initiated Measure 29. The measure would’ve legalized the growth, possession, ingestion, and distribution of the drug. Hundreds of thousands of voters across the state weighed in on the future of recreational marijuana in South Dakota.