The New Approach South Dakota group that turned in under 15,000 signatures towards the 13,871 they needed for purposes of putting a medical marijuana initiated measure on the ballot in South Dakota placed a letter of “thanks” on their public Facebook page last evening.
Although, “thanks” might be overly generous. It seems that there’s some bitterness there from the group that failed to collect sufficient signatures for two of their three petitions (recreational marijuana and assisted suicide), and is on the razors’ edge for the one they did turn in:
We thank all 20-30 of you who DID help. We refuse to use money that could be used for patient education & important things like booth spaces, events and vendor entry to hire paid circulators. We 100% refuse.
and..
When will those thousands of you who promised to help come forward. The amount of blank petitions mailed back to us with the statement “I didn’t have time” was devastating.
We all have jobs, families and responsibilities but we found time.
and…
We thank you all for the online support. There’s nothing quite like a big FB presence especially when a boots on the ground presence was what we needed.
We have no idea what the future holds BUT we do know this. This was your last chance for a ballot measure with us. We are moving on and starting to live our real lives again.
Here is a group in Colorado that is fighting back and exposing what damage has been done. They have tried to overturn the legalization laws in at least one county but failed so far. http://marijuanaaccountability.co/
Just finishing a very powerful video posted in the closed group of Parents Opposed to Pot closed group not the public one posted within the last 24 hours that is very powerful and telling. South Dakotans need to see this as far as what has really been happening in Colorado and what the true costs have been.
OUCH! That statement did seem frustrated and mad at all the people that promised to help and then didn’t.
I get it —it is a sad commentary when people say they are going to give financially, work on the ground for you and/or even support you or your cause and then do not.
Maybe they mailed the petitions out to people who actually read them and decided “I’m not going to circulate this crap”
“This was your last chance for a ballot measure with us.”
Is that a promise?
I’m actually in favor of some legalization for medicinal purposes at first and then maybe eventually recreational. However, this group is not the right people to get this done. If this will ever happen, it needs to be supported and organized by professionals who can act as such. They need lawyers to draft the language. They need doctors to support it for its medicinal effects and patients who have used it with success. They need budget-conscience city council members and accountants to tout its potential tax benefits. They need a study showing how much money the state would save on jailing people for marijuana-related offenses and how much tax revenue would be created by legalizing and taxing it. You know, all the things that most people or groups do when they want a major change in the law.
Bring back Emmett from Colorado who has ran several successful campaigns for a multi-year strategy. This ‘New Approach’ is bogus, all about self promotion and back patting. Staying anonymous on this comment because the leader has been very hostile to anyone who provides advice about managing it better without scaring away most of the west river support. The leadership’s biggest mistake was conflating the issue with death by suicide and recreational marijuana, that was the biggest disservice to us patients who have been fighting for nearly 20 years for a medical marijuana law. This is a very sad day for South Dakota and I am reaching out to Emmett to talk about a more realistic strategy for 2020 when the vote turn out will be better in our favor anyways. Sometimes a ego check goes a long way. Get some professionals, a campaign consultant, find local biz to invest/donate, lobby medical association and chamber of commerce etc. and get it done right. Maybe next Mayor of Sioux Falls will be a supporter too you never know!
Ostrich costume for 2020?
sideshow drama for 2020?
No, how about we let Emmett get high in CO as he wants and NOT bring this garbage back again.
We dn’t want legalized marijuana…the voters have said so a couple times already.
SD Citizen-
You must not have paid attention as that information is all public record and has been done the cost savings & tax revenue were all done and made public 4 months ago.
What kind of professionals are you requesting? Currently we have a nationally known oncologist from Sanford, several other Physicians from both hospitals, 2 Pharmacists, 4 Nurses, Former Law Enforcement, Chiropractors and an army of parents of disabled children. If we can improve somewhere in that line up please tell us.
Melissa
Simple…don’t couch it as medical when it enables recreation use also. See? Simple.
Don’t you have a meeting to prep for? I’m sure it’s going to take a lot of work trying to convince the officers what laws you say have been broken. Good luck;)
Melissa,
You have all those people supposedly supporting your cause, yet this is the first I’ve heard of it. I would bet the same is true for 95% or more of South Dakotans. The problem is THEY should have been the face of the movement, not you. No offense, but you come across unprofessional and it’s not helping the cause you purport to be fighting for.
Wait, it’s unprofessional to use vulgarities on your FB posts? Geez, what a downer, dude!
Don’t be such a vulgarian. That would lend you a tiny bit more credibility.
Melissa, I will not sign or vote for any marijuana legalization which DOESNT make growing marijuana any different from growing tomatoes. It’s either legal or it isn’t. If you have financial backers who withdraw their support because they won’t make any money if people can grow their own, that tells you who you are working for.
If you have been following Emmett on Facebook he has become disgusted with the marijuana industry and the attempts to turn growing marijuana it into a monopoly. I quoted Eric Hoffer on how every great cause begins as a movement, turns into a business and degenerates into a racket. Legal cannabis is going the same way.
That’s the problem with the legalization measures, they never allow people to just throw seeds out and grow it themselves. Somebody else has to grow it and sell it to you. They claim it’s in the interest of public safety. That’s BS.
Randee Huber shared Dakota Free Press’s post.
November 6 at 8:58pm ·
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What is wrong with these marijuana petition people? Do they smoke too much to be able to get enough signatures?
South Dakota isn’t a good place for pot. Too negative by nature.
You are right! Colorado is much awesomer. Potheads should move there.
They are Dave. Then shortly after, they complain because they can’t afford to live there and come home to mommy and daddy’s basement.
Why CO? My husband and I like Minnesota but we’re not potheads.
Try the no-go-zones in MPLS, I hear the Muslims are very welcoming;)
any word from police or media? Mentele sure is good at victim playing. always the victim.
Aww, don’t blame her. Women have been being told for generations that they are victims, the gov’t can take better care of them and a baby is really just a blob of cells.
What’s exciting is that pendulum swings back and the deplorables are the ones who are going to help it.
but she says she gonna call the police and sue everybody. cannot keep up w her drama.
I know, that’s her full-time job;)
The blame lies with everyone else, personal responsibility has been cast from her vocabulary.