I had mentioned it in an earlier post, and hot off the press, a reader was kind enough to forward State Representative Travis Ismay‘s beg to his fellow legislators for co-sponsorship on his attack against the medical marijuana industry in South Dakota:
Sponsorship Request:
34-20G is part of the marijuana industries plan to exploit the state of South Dakota. This travesty was sold to our state in 2020 as something that would help people and bring in large amounts of revenue to the state. It has clearly been neither. The last two elections have been proof that the people of South Dakota do not want this in their state. I would encourage anyone to please read 34-20 G and see if you can find one thing in this law that is good for the people of South Dakota. This law protects drug dealers (34-20g-2to7). Gives special provisions in custody and visitation rights cases to cardholders (34-20g-21). Forces every municipality in the state to allow for a dispensary (34-20g-59), forces every school in the state to allow for a class 1 drug to be administered in school during school hours by whoever they bought the drug from. (34- 20g-95). The issuance of a medical marijuana card to children under the age of 18 (34-20g-33) and this is my favorite. You don’t need an identification card to defend your use of medical marijuana in court.(34- 20g-53) so basically it doesn’t matter how many restrictions you put on procuring a card, you don’t need one. These are just a few Sections in this law that are asinine.
Also, you have to understand how the marijuana industry sold this to the people to get this on the ballot. All of these sections were in four point font and folded up on one piece of paper so no one could read any of these sections before this was on the ballot. If anyone knew what this Law actually said, they would never have voted for this. The people of South Dakota had this crammed down their throat. Most people don’t know that we already had “medical marijuana” in a prescription form, approved by the FDA, Epidiolex (Cannabidiol), Syndros (dronabinol), Marino! (dronabinol) and Cesamet. I believe that if people knew this, they would not have voted to bring this industry into our state. Please consider supporting and sponsoring this bill if you have any questions, please email me or give me a call 605-490-6010. Thank you, and
God bless you.
The problem with his logic is that the South Dakota Legislature itself acted to place medical marijuana into law while the legal case on the ballot measure was winding through the courts, so the line about 4pt type is more than a bit deceptive. And insinuating that voters are ignorant or had it “crammed down their throat” just isn’t a winning strategy.
Was I in favor of it at the time? No. A fairly significant portion of the electorate disagreed and voted otherwise, and the legislature had decided to be proactive and adhere to the will of the voters. But 4 years down the line, as I noted during this last election, the industry has gotten through their growing pains and has matured. The state is regulating it and tweaking rules and regulations as needed. It begs the question “why?”
If we have something that is working and is adequately regulated, why does Rep. Ismay feel the need to throw everything out and contradict the will of the voters because it’s his axe to grind?
We’ll see how this goes. Stay tuned.
Everyone in South Dakota would benefit if Mr. Ismay and I had a respectful conversation on my podcast regarding the cannabis issue.
Not a debate, but I’d like to look at the strongest arguments on both sides together.
The door is open.
I have extended this invitation on FaceBook as well.
Sincerely,
John Dale
Plains Tribune
Back in 2020 it was a very deceptive campaign where petitioners some wearing ankle bracelets were using high pressure and deceptive tactics to get signers some just claiming it was to legalize hemp for example building materials and for other uses like ropes. Then came the campaign that absolutely dominated a cheap media market funded by out of state addiction profiteer interests.
Social media was flooded by paid out of state trolls from the drug culture that often times had no idea what state they were campaigning for or even the drug since they were into all kinds of intoxicants and psychedelics.
Medical claims that had zero legitimate science to back it up. They used a snap shot of a study and purposely left out the final results. Used deceptive slogans like “may show promise” which means absolutely nothing.
All this did was to provide legal cover for recreational users and grow this addiction for profit poverty industry using the same exact playbook as Big Tobacco which Altria parent company of Phillip Morris is heavily invested in now.
Good for Ismay, Manhart and the other legislators that will support this bill.
False: where petitioners some wearing ankle bracelets
False: claiming it was to legalize hemp for example building materials and for other uses like ropes
False: Then came the campaign that absolutely dominated a cheap media market funded by out of state addiction profiteer interests.
False & Ridiculous: Social media was flooded by paid out of state trolls from the drug culture that often times had no idea what state they were campaigning for or even the drug since they were into all kinds of intoxicants and psychedelics.
False: Medical claims that had zero legitimate science to back it up. They used a snap shot of a study and purposely left out the final results. Used deceptive slogans like “may show promise” which means absolutely nothing.
There is NOT much to refute when the author of the comments above is completely and totally wrong. New Approach never had a single volunteer on any law enforcement monitoring device, Medical Cannabis and Hemp were NOT discussed together in relation to Measure 26. We had 0 out of state “trolls” paid to run any kind of misinformation campaign and the cherry regarding medical claims. Our entire campaign education was built off the University Of Jeresulum’s 25+ years of research with the study results all available for people to review from a 3rd party.
It sounds like a freshman legislator who failed to collect enough signatures to place his version of a repeal on the 2024 ballot decided that being funded as a Protecting SD Kids puppet was an easier route than the route with integrity—especially against medical cannabis an issue that collected DOUBLE the required signatures needed to qualify and in 2019 had the highest validity rate in state history to qualify for the ballot. A ballot during an election that brought out the highest voter turnout in SD since 2004 to ensure that their voice was heard loudly and clearly. 290,000 SD Voters said yes to medical cannabis.
Its incredible the inability to read the room that Ismay has. If you couldn’t get the signatures he should have taken the hint, attempting to run it through the session at best is going to land the issue back on the ballot with the legislative sponsors who supported its repeal on the chopping block. May the odds be ever in their favor this issue is one where we are united across the aisle in both chambers. Medicine is Medicine.
Supporting a repeal of this issue will have consequences. I encourage Freshman Legislators to not follow in his footsteps this is a career-ending issue when you talk about taking medicine away from patients we may not agree on many things but the enhanced quality of life SD patients have should be left alone. They earned this right the right way.
Predictably false!
Upset that all of your pearl-clutching lies were debunked? If anti-Med Marijuana loons could prove anything, maybe they’d be laughed at less
^ bad information like this is why Mr. Ismay and I should come to the table.
There is a truth of this matter, and this is not how we arrive at it together, humbly.
https://youtu.be/rePH0j3gCEc?t=866
I would like to praise the farmers and entrepreneurs who took the risk to plant, grow, and harvest cannabis in South Dakota (Hemp and otherwise).
I would like to condemn the black marketeers who are enabled by the subterfuge and unsubstantiated information war being waged on this group of South Dakota Farmers in the name of Christ.
I would remind Mr. Ismay of God’s Third Commandment, which doesn’t apply to swearing, but does apply to doing self-serving things while claiming the mantle of God.
Once again, MAGA extremists are undermining the voice of the people. This MAGA Autocracy has infiltrated our local politics, and now, despite the will of the community, one misguided individual seeks to strip us of our hard-fought progress. We will not stand idly by while our collective will is threatened.
Once again, MAGA extremists are undermining the voice of the people. This MAGA Autocracy has infiltrated our local politics, and now, despite the will of the community, one misguided individual seeks to strip us of our hard-fought progress. We will not stand idly by while our collective will is threatened.
I have supported MAGA since 2015.
Still do.
Trump and his Right Hand Man Roger Stone both support legalization.
I think Ismay’s dissent is coming from somewhere else.
Maybe you should move to Greenland
In addition to the 1:24pm post SDPB (South Dakota Public Broadcasting) was contacted several times by at least one volunteer of the opposition to IM26 to gain equal time on their 1 hour SD Focus program. With IM26 being on the ballot first contact and an inquiry was made in January/Feb in 2020 and after a number of attempts were made all being unsuccessful to secure equal time to debunk claims made by advocates of IM26 utilized on a prior SD Focus program in their campaign and later used nationally. A great deal of unsubstantiated claims, misinformation and disinformation would have been addressed by the opposition if they were given equal time. They were not!
Personally I had a Friend’s of SDPB license plates on my vehicle which I still have in storage and have always enjoyed their programming but after that experience I stopped being a supporter. Fair and balanced is not what we experienced and now believe their business model should change with incrementally less government financial support.
The SDPB Focus episode was more about the amazing journey of Larry Smith featuring his wife telling his story of faith, conviction, and triumph over a disease that took so much from him BUT also provided him with an incredible story & legacy.
Its incredibly disturbing that anyone would fight to steal Betty’s voice and take away from Larry’s story.
You a sad and inappropriate person who had NO business even thinking you had right to be a part of it and 5 years later are still trying to take away from the meaning of that episode. Seek therapy or Jesus.
Predictable response from those advocating for a predatory addiction for profit poverty industry with all the associated unhealthy behaviors surrounding addiction.
I encourage you to bring to the table statistical evidence that proves your point. Information from the past 24 months. Every single resource or citation used by PSDK was 10-15 years old and all had been debunked or replaced with science supporting the medical use of cannabis.
Medical programs are NOT for profit addiction. SD’s program is stricter than the FDA on testing ingredients found in our grocery stores.You need to stop spreading misinformation.
This predatory industry as stated then and continues today has a well established history of avoiding the level of scrutiny that requires long term rigorous clinical trials to obtain FDA approval. If it is not FDA approved it is simply recreational THC marketed deceptively as medical medical marijuana.
Unfortunately those in the depths of addiction and the especially the profiteers of addiction are not exactly known to be truth tellers.
All of that verbal diarrhea and no proof posted. Sad!
You mean the findings that the FDA gets from the studies that the drug companies do without handing over any of the empirical evidence or raw data used to gain those findings. Yeah. Real “rigorous.” About 75% of the FDAs finding comes from the pharmaceutical industry. They’ve approved drugs that have killed hundreds of thousands of people. Don’t like pot, fine. I can understand that. But to hinge your argument on FDA approval is going to get you nowhere.
Cannabis can be made into a divisive issue that causes us to fight.
But only if one side is made to believe the falsehood.
I believe cannabis prohibition is a mistake.
So I believe Mr. Ismay and his people have a false belief that was put there to make us fight.
When we should be growing.
The recent IM 29 ballot measure was soundly defeated here in SD but in other states too. Big Tobacco 2.0 which includes Big Marijuana, Alcohol and Pharma poured an enormous record breaking amount of money in an attempt to pass recreational THC in Florida heavily outspending the opposition yet it was defeated! Why? All the promises and claims turned out to be false in other states plus the corruption and exploding black market has all caught up to them. Many stories by those who voted for but realized they made a mistake later on and realized they were duped.
The volunteers with Protecting SD Kids did a great job with Jim Kinyon and Ed Moses powerful presentations when they visited cities and towns across South Dakota. They specifically mentioned the con that is called medical marijuana. Their presentation changed minds who joined in opposition. Build on the momentum! Support Ismay’s bill and efforts.
Bring Heather and Randy Bacchus from Minnesota who lost their son to Cannabis induced psychosis. He had a medical MJ card. They have been active volunteers in Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota SAMM.org.
Aubree Adams would be another to testify in support of Rep. Ismay’s bill. Plenty of resources and support would may be available. If the bill passes and is signed into law then great! If not another ballot measure could happen but this time a better one to expose the lies and socio economic costs of this industry. It is a substantial money loser for state governments when all the costs are factored especially with tough budget crises our state will be facing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrkdF1Q__qQ
You got any proof for your budgetary claims?