The head of New Approach South Dakota, Melissa Mentele is in the comment section of the prior post with what we might call false braggadocio, making a claim of hundreds of volunteers, and claiming that they’ll be successful in the pot group’s efforts to put their version of medical marijuana on the 2020 ballot.
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.
Well, Melissa’s typical drama aside, I can’t help but have a healthy dose of skepticism, and offer a historical view as I note, “Yeah, but.”
In 2017, the last time the NASD group attempted to put medical pot on the ballot, they only had to collect 13,871 valid signatures to place the measure on the ballot. The Attorney General issued a ballot title and summary for the initiative on March 27, 2017, meaning they started circulation within days thereafter, end of March, first of April that year.
On November 6, 2017, they turned in 15k signatures. And they fell short of the required 13,871 valid signatures by 4,401 valid signatures, meaning they only collected 9470 valid signatures in 7 months of circulating petitions.
Fast forward to now. The same group is starting in their latest effort on about August 15th, and they have until November 4th. Giving them a little over 2 1/2 months to collect a minimum of 16,961 valid signatures.
If New Approach South Dakota failed to collect 10,000 valid signatures over the course of seven months in the last election, history encourages a more than healthy amount of skepticism for the organization’s efforts to do better in 2020 with a higher benchmark and only about 1/3 of the time that they had enjoyed in their 2018 effort.
In other words, You can stick a fork in that potato right now. They’re done before they start.
It’s not going to happen. The best they can hope for is “next time.”
The “head” of New Approach ! Good choice of words !
Agree with Pat’s analysis. Given past performance, it seems improbable this group will collect enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. I’m not going quite as far as “stick a fork in that potato,” but I won’t bet a cup of java the New App–roach will succeed.
Then even if they make the ballot..huge if….no money for why we should legalize a ballot measure that is horribly written…minimum of 3 plants not a maximum….they either are dumb or did that on purpose for recreational
No thanks!
There are all kinds of problems with this. Mentele is looking to cash in on all of this zero regulations Wild West snake oil gold rush all in the name of “Compassion” being the “Fixer” consultant with CBD creams oils and whatever else it leads to.
Medical Marijuana rollout was always planned as a sham and a way to get the public to accept legalization for the recreational users and those looking to profit from it. What has happened in states that eventually legalized recreational the availability of medical dwindled with the focus on recreational.
The Minnesota Medical Marijuana program is in the process of losing integrity and becoming a joke with more qualifying conditions being approved that the medical establishment has stated there is no medical proof it works for that condition based off of scientific methods but it is being heavily lobbied by the pot groups with an end goal of full recreational. Pull at heartstrings and manipulate is a well used tactic to con the public, and our elected officials. With Colorado PTSD was denied as a qualifying condition for vets several times with no scientific proof and against the advice of mental health professionals but they finally caved in to a well organized pot lobby and now it has been shown to make their PTSD worse with bringing out underlying additional mental health issues.
What those pushing medical so they can just get their recreational don’t mention is the families that sacrificed and moved to Colorado and other states and their child tragically ended up dying because the medical Marijuana did not help their child or the dosage was way off or it was contaminated with toxic chemicals or mold which is not uncommon.
They will claim that pot cures everything. It even cures lung cancer now! It supposedly helps nausea except if you happen to get severe nausea from smoking pot to the point that you live in a hot shower. It supposedly helps symptoms associated with mental illness even though smoking pot may now be the leading cause of mental illness in this country. Yes, we should treat PTSD by having people smoke a drug that makes people psychotic. If you want to know what pot psychosis looks like, just take a look at Mentele’s delusional rants. Everyone is out to get her, and everything is someone else’s fault.
Every South Dakotan should watch the documentary “Chronic State” produced by Drug Free Idaho. It could be shown to groups with a panel discussion afterwards with local mental health professionals, addiction counselors, law enforcement, those in recovery with great stories to share and other entities that have witnessed and been affected in their communities by today’s high potency marijuana use. https://drugfreeidaho.org/
The latest studies show that states with legal medical marijuana had higher opioid deaths.
Aubree Adams is a great resource.
Christine Tatum is a journalist and another very good resource. She has a media company in Denver and often speaks about how the national and regional media are enabling and promoting without mentioning the harm and what is behind this national push with the money involved in this addiction for profit scheme.
The Utah Legislature passed medical marijuana and the state has yet to go up in smoke.
Really? seems like DUIs go up, instances of schizophrenia increase and you get more access to kids to make more users…sounds like a resounding success (sarcastic)
Can i buy you a bus ticket to Utah then? go ahead and leave, don’t ruin our state
Well – “reefer madness” is still alive and well in South Dakota. As a young conservative, I feel as though it is going to take a passing of the older generation for this to pass. The older generation was brought up in the “War on Drugs” era, that has failed so miserably, in fact one could legitimately argue it made the problem worse and has led to mass incarceration of non-violent offenders. People talk about “high-potency” marijuana as if it is such a novel idea and dangerous. Do we not have differing percentages of alcohol content (i.e. wine, beer, hard liquor – Everclear v. white wine) – man that wasn’t what it used to be “back in my day”. That argument is a scapegoat that never addresses the real issue. I hope this or Brendan Johnson’s initiative makes it on the ballot – I want myself and my family to have access to medicine other than addictive (or deadly) prescriptions when it comes to pain.
You are not a conservative if you believe in legalizing pot.
Stop comparing it with alcohol, what a BS argument….should we license heroin or fentanyl at the ballot box with a poorly written measure such as this…have you actually read the measure?
Conservatives believe in limiting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, eh?
Yes – I believe its conservative to support the citizen’s right to petition their government to change the law. You know what is not conservatism? Denying the right to medication that has helped so many across the country. In fact, without seeing the first hand effects of medicinal use on cancer patients and other ailments (which I have seen), I dont think you fully understand the issue. Finally, since it was such an intelligent and well thought out response of “comparing it to alcohol is BS”, I think I’ll let my previous comments remain as is.
what is not conservative is pushing a DRUG that has be proven to be harmful, but you ignore the facts of that to claim that it is medicine that cures everything….
Can you point to my post and tell me where I said it cures everything? I never said that nor implied it – you simply inferred that from a statement to fit your view. It helps with alleviate symptoms of chronic conditions – I don’t believe it to be a cure and never will.
It is a miracle plant! My local drug dealer suggested I start smoking pot after noticing I was missing my right arm from an accident during childhood. He said that when the Cannabis reaches a certain temperature when a blunt is lit that it activates certain Canninabanoids which react to my Endocannabinoid system and stimulates tissue regrowth similar to a starfish. My arm is growing back!
Whether it’s poppies for tea or pot for voter dependence, if you really think legalizing pot is about keeping government out of people’s lives, you are not paying attention.
If you were a Conservative as you claim would you like it to be a substantial drain on South Dakota’s annual state budget just so a small number of stoners can get legally high? A recent study out of Colorado shows it costs that state $4.50 in socio-economic costs for every $1.00 in pot related tax revenue. California is a mess with a deeply entrenched black market targeting local legitimate pot shops. Law enforcement cannot keep up since they do not have the resources. Massive environmental damage from illegal grows in NorCal with a high murder rate up there. The governor had to call up the National Guard to help adding even more expense to taxpayers. Oregon with chronic regulatory issues and it goes on to other states that legalized. The track record from this public policy mistake has caught up with the pushers making it a tougher sell.
Try sobriety and gain some more life experiences especially if you are in a position where you have to help clean up a mess and witness the wreckage from Marijuana use at work, home or elsewhere.
and just wait until all the lung cancer costs start hitting Colorado…and other states
Haven’t you been reading? Pot CURES lung cancer!
I hope you are being sarcastic…..yep pot curs everything when you are high and don’t have a care in the world!
I doubt anybody is going to smoke 3 packs of joints a day. Just talk to a friend who lives in downtown Denver. Loves it. The people are very nice.
yeah we sure are mellow DUDE
Truth be told pot pushers have no idea what the higher THC concentrations are doing to people. We have no long term studies on the chronic exposure to current levels of THC. What was smoked illegally and rarely during the early ’90s and earlier had a high CBD concentration and a low THC concentration of around 2-4%. What is being marketed now has almost no CBD and a 20+% THC concentration. The CBD that has now been bred out of most strains of pot likely has anti-psychotic properties, but it also interferes with the perceived high; so, it is widely bred out of pot for the THC market. It is all about the money and keeping people hooked on this drug. As soon as you legalize, it becomes a market dominated by high THC products entirely geared toward getting people getting high and staying hooked. The CBD sideshow goes away almost entirely. It served its purpose to get recreational legalized.
Spot on!
Once it’s legalized it will stop being stigmatized. Personal responsibility. I don’t need government being my nanny.
funny England move it back to a schedule B after originally downgrading it to a schedule C ( the lower classification)
The key is to NEVER legalize this BS
4 strikes and you are way OUT
Where is the American Cancer Society?
Study after study I read says it is more harmful to smoke than tobacco
It is the opinion of this South Dakotan that whether it be getting a cup of coffee at a local McDonalds drive thru, a slip and fall or a routine stop by law enforcement that It somehow turns into a high drama event with NASD head Melissa Mentele. Calls are made to local media with over the top claims being made while always playing the victim. It is always someone else’s fault. The Jerry Springer show is likely aware and is just waiting for the next predictable high drama event.
Posted on DFP
Neal
2017-09-12 at 21:18 .
Mentele’s account is over the top, full of hyperbole (“brutally attacked”; “horrified screams”; “absolutely traumatized”; etc.), and ultimately not credible. The photos don’t support anything even close to resembling her description of what happened, and the fact that her underage daughter tested positive for alcohol indicates that there’s much more to the story than her claims, which border on preposterous.
Here’s what probably happened: Madison was found in a public place after curfew; law enforcement made contact and smelled alcohol; the PBT confirmed that alcohol had been consumed; she was cited for underage drinking; the officer attempted to make a lawful arrest; she resisted, and thus parlayed a class 2 misdemeanor into a class 1 misdemeanor. Law enforcement will often elect to not charge the lesser offense in situations like this, so the absence of any additional charges means nothing.
Her daughters screwed up and are compounding it with these ridiculous claims. Take your lumps, learn you lesson, and move on.
The bigger issue is the negative impact this will have on the marijuana ballot measures she is working to advance, which are righteous and deserve to succeed. This event would have been a non-factor … until she decided to make it a crusade about police brutality.
Police overreach is an issue that’s worth talking about in the right context. But when you have a couple of bruises on your wrist that you got because you made it difficult for a cop to lawfully arrest you, that’s on you.
If Mentele wants to pursue this, she should step away from the ballot measures. Her continued involvement will only hurt their chances for success.
It’s a good thing the Judge after viewing all the video and listening to the audio didn’t share your opinion. The truth always comes out in the wash is what my Momma always said & the truth prevailed in that situation. In fact the body camera audio had most of the people in the courtroom horrified. My child has 0 record & 0 charges.
Anyone who uses a child to further an agenda of personal attacks against another adult is a very small person. I will definitely add you to my prayers that you find some sort of peace & solace inside you that doesn’t require using children as political fodder. Families are off limits.
Facts matter.
You have zero credibility.
Jerry Springer Show etc: You don’t know what you are talking about.
Before coming up with a “here’s what probably happened” scenario involving a curfew ordinance you are not familiar with, MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE READ IT FIRST.
But since you’re lazy, I’ll tell you what it says: it runs from 11 pm to 4 am and only applies to minors under 18 years of age who are not accompanied by a parent or their designated adult, such as an 18 year old babysitter, classmate, date or sibling. It also does not apply to minors going to or from work, running errands for their parents, or returning from a school, religious or civic event which was supervised by adults. The Brookings ordinance is so relaxed and has so many exemptions, we seldom hear of it being enforced. It’s a wonder it’s even on the books at all.
All the officer had to do to determine there was no violation of a curfew was to check the IDs of both girls, verify they had the same last name and the age of the older girl. That was it. There was no curfew violation. And apparently no underage consumption of alcohol, either.
Neal, don’t bother. It’s called pot psychosis. You can’t help someone who does not want help. When she says people are after her or her family, she really believes it. It is a symptom of her heavy pot usage and chronic exposure to high concentrations of THC. Look at her public statements. This is textbook pot-induced psychosis. Remember when she left South Dakota to go study pot in Colorado and California after her initiative train wreck. What do you think she studied?
There are 2 full recreational issues out there also (one circulating & one coming out this week) and you choose to attack the medical one? I’m not the only one in the state scratching my head over this. Sounds personal to me.
Maybe we in South Dakota just don’t want anything to do with pot/weed/whatever you want to call it…period!
You already are. You’re surrounded by it whether you want to admit it or not. Yes even in small towns in little ol SD. There are vehicles moving pounds and pounds of the stuff across the state every single day. So what’s the big issue, let the state make some money from taxes and let people enjoy themselves peacefully. Because they already are regardless of the legality.
It is another NASD recreational marijuana ballot measure sold as medical.
Amen—minimum 3 plants no maximum
Melissa—serious question–is the 3 minimum, no maximum a mistake? or was that intentional. Can you clarify that please?. Thank you.
It was intended. Using a staggered planting cycle with 3 plants allows for a patient to have a plant in harvest, a plant in bloom and a seedling. If they plant a seed at each harvest they will consistently have 3 plants in various stages of development & a consistent supply of their medicine. This requirement also pushes people who want to grow into attending a cultivation class, visiting a grow supply store and talking to other people growing. Which grows the community and helps to prevent mishaps such as powdery mildew, people growing in not ideal conditions and them accidentally destroying their property. 3 plants requires a commitment and will dissuade those not serious about doing it the right way.
There is reasoning behind every portion of the language. To protect the public, employers, rental properties and public spaces. The language is framework to a safe, legal program that leaves the majority of the rule making process up to the state & appointed board that includes law enforcement.
Medicine my buttockitus. This demon weed is rotting the brains of already addle-minded people. It’s a crutch for the weak willed and soft brained.
I’m not sure how most of these comments are on topic with the fact that given their prior track record, there’s no way they’re making the ballot.
One thing you can do to combat the illegal/legal use of pot is state in any deeded property that pot can never be grown on the premises. If the owner violates this or the owner after or thereafter regardless of the legal status, the initial transfer is voided, and the current owner has no legal claim to the property. It’s really easy to add that kind of terminology when selling a property, and they would need an attentive abstractor to catch it.
Also, if you suspect your renters are smoking pot on your property, there are some really cheap and accurate THC residue wipes that can collect residue off inside and outside windows. It is best not to confront them. Just keep jacking the rent up. They will leave.
Good to know! No way do we want potheads in our rental properties. Actually a landlord or his agent does have the legal right to periodically inspect apartments after giving advance notice. Those residue wipes would come in handy.
A big problem is that it is fairly standard on all lease agreements that no drugs are allowed but a major problem with potheads is that they do not even believe pot is a drug. You get some stupid response like ” it is just a plant”. Then they smoke or grow weed on you’re property. Specifically mention it in the lease, re-enforce it when showing an apartment and signing the lease while laying down the law and if they break it , evict, keep the deposit and take them to court for damages and hold them financially responsible for the remainder of the lease.
or her agent.
I can’t drink beer in my apartment? Bummer.