Pot Legalization group asking for volunteers for this week… without money or approval for signature collection

Pat Powers

The group “New Approach South Dakota” who failed to put pot legalization in the ballot last election seems to already be jumping into the Petition Signature collection fray on the wrong foot in a couple of ways as they get the cart before the horse:

As taken from their facebook page this afternoon, they’re advertising that they’ll be at various fairs and festivals this week:

The problem? While they have electronic acceptance of the style and form of their petition, they haven’t turned in a hard copy of the petition, so they are not yet approved to circulate petitions – both according to the Secretary of State’s website, and confirmed by staff at the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office late this afternoon.

While they might advertise they’re going to be at the Turner County fair today on their facebook page, at least as I was able to find out, signature collection is yet to be approved, and still a no no.

Additionally, according to SOS staff, anyone who would approve the petitions are going to be tied up at the Board of Elections Meeting over the next couple of days, further setting back the pot petition promoters to a time later this week.

What other problems do they have? If you’ll notice the first image in the post, as well as on their Facebook page, they’re starting off the petition drive nearly flat busted broke:

We have enough money to pay for the design and first print of petitions BUT not enough to buy booth space plus insurance for Corn Palace Days in Mitchell. These larger events are where we need to be to collect the highest amount of signatures. Starting Friday we are at Central States Fair in Rapid. The last weekend in August the State Fair in Huron.

Can you help us rent booth space?

So, they can print petitions, or rent booth space, but not both.  Considering the group has about 12 weeks to collect a minimum of 16,961 valid signatures, according to the Secretary of State, the fact that they lack money, organization and are still waiting for the ability to actually collect signatures on their petitions, I have a prescient notion that this is not going to go well for them.

I’m guessing that we might expect that New Approach South Dakota will be taking the same approach they did in 2018.

And they won’t get on the ballot. Again.

45 thoughts on “Pot Legalization group asking for volunteers for this week… without money or approval for signature collection”

  1. Alex White Plume has been singing Kristi Noem’s praises for keeping hemp on the reservation but New Approach is just going the motions and trying not to suck any precious donations from the disabled SDDP.

  2. Why bother at this point…if they don’t have enough money to get the signatures how are they going to actually campaign …send out mailers go to events to speak get on TV….

  3. The inability to follow rules, regulations and laws are the norm for those pushing pot. It has been a chronic problem in states that legalized and states they are pushing to legalize.

  4. No thanks we don’t need more schizophrenia; people behind the wheels high and more lazy people

    Medical is justa first step toward legalization

    DON”T SIGN ANY PETITIONS!

    1. Indeed. The demon weed weakens peoples minds and then they can’t follow the most simple of rules. #DSAP and #VNOE!

    2. Lmao if you think you get schizophrenia from marijuana. You might need to go see a mental hospital yourself 😂😂 You people need to educate yourselves before posting dumbass comments

      1. read tons of studies…maybe if you didnt smoke weed you would be able to read

  5. They should write off the Turner fair at this point, once approved for circulation it will still take a few days to distribute the petitions

  6. Curious if the SoS or AG office could just invalidate their entire drive for 2020 for rules violation.

    1. I don’t know that they’ve violated any rules yet. But it sounds like they’re starting off with their usual level of disorganization and non-effort.

  7. Pat,

    Care to share with your readers the rest of the information from the SOS? Like the 380 volunteers we sent over to be certified this morning & how we have met and exceeded the requirements for submission. You could also tell them that the only thing left is waiting on the final ok because we have done everything we are supposed to.

    I encourage you to remember we are a donor funded, grassroots organization built by volunteers who are either disabled or are the parents of disabled children. We don’t get to buy our way onto the ballot we have to work for it. Your name calling & accusations reflect badly upon you, more so than us. You cant forget that pesky fact that our organization was hired by our former Governor & former Republican Speaker of the House last petition cycle because of our work ethic & organizational capabilities.

    I encourage any of you reading this garbage and basing an opinion off of Pat’s spin story to pick up the phone and call the Elections team. We have no issue being transparent.

    Fingers crossed we get to circulate the final day of Turner County Fair. That’s the beauty of being prepared once we are certified we will have petitions in hand within the hour & the PDF rolling out copies all over the state.

    We also have a few surprises in store for you still. I will be sure to send the press release over once we get the final ok to share. You may have noticed the only press request we granted on the AG Summary was Bob Mercer. Our email is full of requests from all over the state and national press…for good reason.

    1. If there ever was a ballot measure for the legislature to overturnit was this one

    2. Or I can focus on your organization’s own words that you can’t afford to print petitions AND have a booth, and your track record of not being able to get enough signatures for the ballot last election.

      But, nice try at spin.

    3. “You may have noticed the only press request we granted on the AG Summary was Bob Mercer.”

      Is not talking to the press supposed to be a strategy?

    1. Another NASD campaign with side drama and snake oil claims. Better bring the waders to the fair because when you pass the NASD booth it’s going to get deep.

    1. Are you referring to the “kill grandma” measure that didn’t get on the ballot either? Yeah, that was them too. (I notice the dutchess of the devil weed didn’t mention that measure).

  10. We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight in the hills, we shall NEVER SURRENDER our state to these potheads!

    We need to form an anti-pot group and keep this sh*t out of our state!

  11. A very good resource is https://learnaboutsam.org/ Many state organizations that oppose this con job link up with SAM
    Aubree Adams a courageous mother who has fought the MJ pushers in the state of Colorado and in Pueblo where she used to reside. She like many have moved out of Colorado and she now lives in Texas where she is helping to fight attempts there and in other states. Her own son is in recovery and is doing well. She has youtube videos and her facebook page along with Moms Strong.

    Parents Opposed to Pot.

    There is a growing number of citizens across the country that are forming organizations to oppose legalization, opt out and hold the industry accountable.

    1. Glad to hear her son is in recovery and doing well.What about the many people who moved from Texas to Colorado so their children can recover and do well.
      I suggest that while your on youtube ,it might not hurt to research the other side of the isle.

  13. What’s funny is reading all the comments from these mouth breathing Republicans. Most of them can’t even spell.
    SD will be one of the last states to legalize weed but it will also be the state with one of the lowest IQ’s. Right there with Arkansas.
    Too bad facts and common sense continues to elude that state.

  14. So for all you people who oppose the legalization of Medical Marijuana or the legalization of CBD products….do you have a non curable chronic disease? How about the most painful disease known to man called Complex Regional Pain Sydrome/Reflex Sympathetic Disorder? Do you require prescription opioid pain medication 24/7/365 to be able to barely function in order to hold a job to pay your bills or to even be able to take care of yourself? NO?! What do you mean, NO?? Well, then how can any of you even begin to think you know what it is like!!! To be in such excruciating pain that you literally want to commit suicide just so the pain stops. To be in agonizing pain every second of every day for the rest of your life!!! The opioids take the edge off but then there is the so called “OPIOID CRISIS” that is causing the Doctors to not prescribe much needed pain management to patients like me. Because some people chose to abuse them or got addicted to them?! That is not the fault of people who desperately need them yet we are the ones taking the fall for the abusers. I do not like being on prescription pain meds when there is a NATURAL alternative with far LESS side effects that manage the pain a whole hell of a lot better than Opioids. Everyone is screaming for a way to stop the Opioid Crisis and here is a NATURAL alternative for people who NEED it and PEOPLE LIKE YOU OPPOSERS are stopping it! What about the child with uncontrollable seizures who does not respond to prescription drugs but responds to Medical Marijuana and is able to control the seizures and is able to make progress? They do not deserve to live the way you opposers are making them without them being able to access something that works for them! They deserve quality of life too! So before you decide to choose against an all NATURAL medication that can help so many people who medically NEED IT, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE think about us people who have no other alternatives to control our non-curable diseases besides opioids which only take the edge off the pain!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE think about the children with uncontrollable seizures that have found a miracle treatment using medical marijuana!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE think about ALL the other diseases out there that medical marijuana has helped…CRPS/RSD, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis, any form of Arthritis (ie Rheumatoid, Juvenile Rheumatoid, Ankylosing Spondylitis), & Cancer to only name a slight few!!! There is NO CURE for our diseases but there is a way to make life more bearable with access to Medical Marijuana and/or CBD products!!
    New Approach South Dakota is HELPING people with these diseases and others to be able to LEGALLY obtain a treatment that drastically improves our quality of life!!!
    So instead of bashing disabled people for trying to improve their lives, why don’t you HELP them??!! Each and every one of you has that power!! Use it!!

    1. It has Absolutely nothing to do with medical…I have been to new approach meetings…they start the meeting saying that this is just a step toward recreational!!!

      1. It has everything to do with Medical. But you know what the amazing thing is…voters have the choice to legalize it Medically but keep recreational illegal. Having it recreational would help keep costs down and allow freedom of choice of different strains as strains affect each person differently. Also, dosage is widely variable per person as well. One person could only need a fraction of what someone with a high metabolism needs. Recreational also would allow freedom of choice on consuming it such as vaporized, tinctures, edibles, etc. without having to make it themselves with their pharmacy distributed allotment.

  15. I would support medical marijuana only if it was treated like other prescription meds… treated like narcotics, available with a doctor’s prescription through an actual pharmacy. If the promoters don’t want this, then they simply want to legalize pot under the pretense of medical pot.

    1. Exactly right Springer!

      Just trying to get recreational so they can smoke pot and be lazy

      Hello schizophrenia

      1. Actually, Smoking marijuana is not very beneficial when treating these ailments as it does not last very long and it also irritates the lungs. For some people it may, but for the majority of patients, it is more beneficial to vaporize it or to do oral tinctures.

      2. It’s highly likely that you people meet potheads in your every day life and would never know. My mother smoked and was anything but lazy. She worked 10 hr days as a supervisor at a large company, making 27/hr. She worked and took care of her home, and children. Feeding into the war against drugs propaganda over actually educating yourselves, seems like the main prerogative of lazy, vacuous, republicans in our state. You are fighting against something that could help people of all walks of life, and help our state with the tax boom. Which is very necessary when most of our schools across south dakota are falling apart, and we have the lowest wages for teachers in the country. We have such bigger problems in south dakota than marijuana, and your inability to see that truely shows your ignorance.

        1. it will cost the state millions in healthcare costs, lung cancer, schizophrenia.,…no thanks

          1. Do you preach the same sentiments when it comes to high-fructose corn syrup? How much have you had today? You know the healthcare costs related to this drug?

      3. Um having type one diabetes has a major effect on my appetite. Small amounts are a common way to increase your hunger and it’s not possible to achieve this without anything other than starving your self and staying active all day. That’s what I do and I dont have schizophrenia. I have diabetes type one and its ridiculous that being able to eat a meal in comfort doesn’t raise any eyebrows for a change in mindset with medical attention. Please think about the good side that far out weighs the bad and the ways this has transpired from the gut to the brain makes it worth the time given to try and make a difference for those in need of a new medical way of getting treated for any medical chronic condition.

    2. A lot of states do have state run marijuana pharmacies. Which is great as long as they can keep the cost affordable. It would be very detrimental to have something like the outrageous inflation cost of insulin happen. The other part of the law is to legalize CBD products that are distributed everywhere including online. With CBD, the federal legal limit is to have no more than .03% THC. It is LEGAL federally, but ILLEGAL yet in South Dakota.

      1. I said actual pharmacy operated by a licensed pharmacist, with medical pot prescribed by an actual physician, not a state run “pharmacy” for pot!

        1. Well, if you did any sort of research you would find that state run pharmacies for pot are run by actual physicians that are only allowed to distribute with an actual prescription from an actual physician.

  17. Ignorance is definitely abound in our state. Fear mongering utilizing 1950’s propaganda has become the normal reaction of the uneducated and the biased in South Dakota and playing on people’s fears has become an art in our state and our country. It frightens many, that the universities, medical research and physicians have disproved this propaganda repeatedly and that marijuana is currently legal, on the state level, in 29 states, and in Washington, DC. The plant is proven to have no addictive effects and is a safer substitute for opioids AND alcohol. Harvard University is one of thousands that have released articles to combat the billions spent by corporate executives trying to stop the legalization. As my Grandmother used to say “Don’t be foolish or ignorant. Read and learn so you can be best person you can be.”
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/medical-marijuana-2018011513085

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