SDDP Chair pushing measure to enshrine legalized pot in the State Constitution

@SoDakCampaigns

Remember the Attorney General’s race between Randy Seiler and Jason Ravnsborg just two years ago? There was a lot of back & forth between the candidates about being tough on drugs:

According to Seiler, if drug abusers don’t want a stiff sentence — if they want treatment and perhaps mental-health assistance, they will need to give up their suppliers.

“It’s not enough to prosecute addicts for crimes, we need to review the underlying causes of drug abuse and find ways to ward off addiction.

Read that here.

But there were hints of Seiler’s real position. And we had Randy telling us in the public television debate that meth should be a misdemeanor – a point that Jason Ravnsborg drove home to win the race:

Of course, Seiler denied he wanted to weaken drug laws. Until he did a web commercial for just that purpose.

Fast forward a couple of years, and now as the Chair of the South Dakota Democrat party, Seiler’s shirt is untucked, and advocating for the marijuana legalization measure which would add pot to the South Dakota State Constitution:

 

So much for Randy arresting suppliers and being ‘tough on crime.’

First he said that users “will need to give up their suppliers.” Two years later as chair of the South Dakota Democrat Party, Seiler is advocating for the drug suppliers to move next door.

32 thoughts on “SDDP Chair pushing measure to enshrine legalized pot in the State Constitution”

  2. I had my reservations about Ravnsborg during the campaign, but he has proven me wrong and doing a great job!

    I can’t imagine how contentious it would be between the Seiler as AG and the legislature and also with the Governor.

    The Democrat party strategy seems to be “if we get everyone high then maybe they will vote for us!”

      1. “Burning plants”; what a simple way of describing pot-smoking, but then I think we’ve come to expect that from you, Ike.

        If you hate South Dakota so much why don’t you move away? I don’t know that you’ll be missed.

        1. The “move somewhere else” trope always strikes me as willful ignorance. I like it here. I also like my house… but that doesn’t mean I should move if I want new carpet.

          The pot-boogeyman, like the gay-marriage-boogeyman, the immigrants-stealing-our-jobs-boogeyman, and the taking-away-your-guns-boogeyman, are just that: convenient fictions to distract you from the fact that your leaders are robbing you blind. And you love them for it!

          1. The Romans had bread and circuses, we, as evolved creatures now offer up pot and protests…go with the 60’s mentality of tune in, turn on, and drop out…that way when you sober up you find yourself living in Portland or Seattle for as far as the eye can see.

            1. Slippery slopes! The way to avoid sliding is careful, deliberate steps with a safety first mentality.

              Legal weed is coming. We can take careful, deliberate steps or we can run screaming into the night. Pick a sensible side for once.

              1. Picking a sensible side would be good. But oh my goodness, Amendment A is absolutely not sensible. It’s a hot mess, and Seiler should be ashamed of himself for saying anything other than no, no, no to it.

          2. Taking away your guns – I see Democrats proposing this often.

            Immigrants stealing jobs – I’m a displaced IT worker lobbying against the H1B, which is well known to take very lucrative jobs important to National security. Gay marriage is oxymoronic gas lighting. Marriage is between a man and a woman.

            And cannabis is safer than alcohol.

      2. Burning plants? Today’s Marijuana is far from being just a simple plant anymore. 60s thru the 80s it was about 3% THC. Today it is 20% to 30% THC in flower and up to 99% THC in dabs, hash oil, wax, shatter and those THC cartridges used in vaping especially among kids. The constant push for even higher potency is market driven and if the legal market will not satisfy potency demands the black market certainly will. It’s all about the high.

        1. Still a plant. You’re right though, it’s clearly the legal market or the black market, either way there will be a market. The legality has not stoped the innovation or use over the years and never will. The war on drugs is a massive failure.

      3. This is a deadly simple and effective argument, Ike. Being republican doesn’t mean ignoring facts and realities.

        Cannabis is safer than alcohol.

  3. Sorry, Randy, but the entire generation you are speaking of isn’t getting high. There are some of that generation that realize that smoking pot isn’t a good thing and despite you attempts to make it mainstream, there are people who don’t think it’s a good idea, despite your opinion on the matter.

    1. “Smoking” isn’t good.

      Cannabis and its essential oils, when eaten, are quite healthy.

      Unlike whiskey, when drunk, causes car accidents, domestic violence, and 7 forms of cancer.

  4. Maybe someone can tell me the TOP 10 accomplishments potheads and drug addicts have given to society.

    2. 1. President (Clinton, Bush, Obama)
      2. Supreme Court Justice (Clarence Thomas)
      3. Mayor of New York City (Bloomberg)
      4. Most Successful Songwriter EVER (McCartney)
      5. Most Olympic Gold Medals (Phelps)
      6. Tech Titan (Gates, Jobs, Bezos)
      7. Home Ec. Guru (Martha Stewart)
      8. 11 NBA Championship Titles (Phil Jackson)
      9. Governor of Alaska (Palin)
      10. Media Monster (Rush Limbaugh)

      …and FAR too many actors, musicians, and grandmas to list.

    3. Ignorance can be fixed. Stupid is forever.

      Maybe the more important question is, how many cannabis users were robbed of an opportunity to excel inefficaciously because of bigoted ideas like this.

      When something that is safer than alcohol, yet can result in someone’s life being ruined by being thrown into prison, it’s difficult to estimate who actually might have tried it and still succeeded. Cannabis prohibition is an inhibition on free speech.

      If you were a betting man, around fall/harvest time, did many founders like Washington plug their pipes with the wacko tobacco, the devil’s lettuce, the reefer madness!?

      https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/farming/washingtons-crops/george-washington-grew-hemp/

      I can’t believe we actually spend money arguing about Cannabis .. so petty.

      Cannabis is safer than alcohol.

  5. Myths by analogy: That cannabis is a “drug” and that people associated with it are criminal in nature (case in point those annoying “Indians” at the Boston Tea Party).

    Speaking of the Tea Party, I got a chance to interview Mark Meckler recently at https://PlainsTribune.com – I hope you all get a chance to check that out.

    Sincerely,

    John

  7. This is incredibly disappointing to see from Randy Seiler being a former US Attorney, former candidate for SD Attorney General and present chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party. My grandparents who were devout Catholics and volunteered many years for the SDDP in Mitchell, Davison County especially baking homemade pies from scratch to sell while working the tent for Corn Palace Days must be rolling in their graves. They would not even recognize the Democratic Party anymore. Rather than focus on prevention the SDDP is promoting drug use which creates more victims. That goes against what the party supposedly stands for.

    1. The Democrat party of JFK is dead and has been for the last 20+ years. The Democrats now are Communists who continue to masquerade by other names such as Socialist, Democratic Socialist, or Progressives. The mask has finally been pulled off and they are showing their true colors. If you vote for Democrats you are Anti-American period. Their platform is about everyone else BUT, the average American. Its about Global Communities, Global Warming, Healthcare for illegals, and identify politics. None of this speaks to the average American who works a job and has a family. The Republican Party has now become the big tent for “regular” people

      1. Yet it’s Trumpians and your dear leader who love autocracy. Witness your Country Club Donny’s farcical executive order ceremony over the weekend.

      2. The Republican party of Reagan is long gone, too, but do you really think what you have now is better?

  8. What we are really talking about is THC. Randy Seiler as Chair of the SDDP with his past experience as a former US Attorney is most likely aware of is that the black market thrives far more in a legalized, normalized and commercialized environment for THC. Bottom line the majority of users especially the heavy chronic users seek out the cheapest high potency THC out there whether their source is legal or not. The black market specifically targets legal outlets for THC whether disguised as medical or not by undercutting them in price and/or potency. The Black market does not have the overhead of a legitimate business, does not pay sales taxes, has no limits on how much it can sell and can sell to minors too. That black market brings with it an increase in crime some of it being violent.

    1. Exactly. If it’s legal and easy to get for adults and you know it’s safe and regulated, why would you risk going to the black market? You seem to be making the case for legalization.

      1. Watch Murder Mountain

        The cartels don’t care though if it’s legal they will still continue to do their business

      2. Auto and business liability insurance rates will go up.

        Insurance companies telling businesses that if there is an accident where an employee tests positive for Marijuana they will not cover it.

        Workforce development plunges when employers cannot find applicants that can pass a drug test. Marijuana industry jobs? They are notorious for low pay, minimal or no benefits which many budtenders or those working at grow facilities end up utilizing taxpayer funded social services. Job security is not the best with a thriving black market out competing legal and regulated pot outlets.

        Socio-economic costs exceed pot related tax revenue which South Dakotans will see their taxes go up or further cuts in services just so a very small minority can get legally stoned.

        Black market is a winner. South Dakota loses with both Marijuana related ballot measures where our communities, businesses, schools, teachers, employers, taxpayers, our most vulnerable populations especially our youth will suffer. https://smokescreenmovie.org/?fbclid=IwAR1yKrOEmGGPmJQvWDvDHX4VoQxtBoHYlVNBZTqpI7OSooHMYhWiRayyQpc

  9. “So much for Randy arresting suppliers and being ‘tough on crime.’”

    Lol, the guy literally spent his entire career prosecuting serious, oftentimes violent crimes. You know, real crimes, the ones where there is a victim. He knows, from deep personal experience in the criminal justice system, that the war on drugs — especially the war on marijuana — is an abject failure.

    He would have been a crappy AG, but he’s 100% correct on this issue.

Comments are closed.