The year 2020 was destined to be a banner year for marijuana producers and dispensaries. That is, until COVID-19 reared its ugly head. 

If you’re wondering how COVID-19 is affecting marijuana legislation, you’re not the only one. The reality is that the coronavirus pandemic has, unfortunately, hampered some marijuana legalization efforts in the short term, but it shouldn’t have any long-lasting effects. 

One of the USA’s few remaining hemp holdout states is now very cautiously joining the country’s cannabis revolution.

On Friday, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem signed HB 1008 into law, which is an Act to legalize the growth, production, and transportation of industrial hemp in the state; to make appropriations for funding and to declare an emergency.

The term “declare an emergency” isn’t as ominous as it sounds. It simply means the Act comes into effect immediately.

Marijuana is illegal in South Dakota. However, the state decided to make both recreational and medical marijuana legal this year. South Dakota started its marijuana campaigns to put legalization proposals on the November 2020 ballot. Campaigns have to collect signatures to qualify for the ballot. However, the coronavirus pandemic will probably make it difficult. Now, South Dakota will plan on how to make sure marijuana legalization initiatives pass through in case the pandemic gets worse or isn’t resolved by November.

Legislation that would legalize and regulate hemp in South Dakota has again made it to the Governor’s desk. Perhaps it will have better luck this time around.

It was just over a year ago that another bill that would have allowed industrial hemp to be grown and processed in the state, House Bill 1191, was vetoed by Governor Kristi Noem who said the state wasn’t yet ready for the crop.

Throughout history, cannabis was regulated by federal law on reservations, so it was generally illegal. But after the 2013 Cole Memo, the topic of cannabis on tribal land and how it ties into the tribe’s government autonomy became increasingly prevalent.

What a difference a year makes. In 2019, South Dakota lawmakers passed a bill to legalize industrial hemp, only to see the measure vetoed by the state’s Republican governor. Now, with the governor reversing course, a new hemp bill looks poised to become law. 

Legislation to legalize and regulate hemp in South Dakota was passed unanimously on Thursday bu its initial House committee. The measure must now be passed by the full House of Representatives and then the Senate before it can be sent to the governor for final consideration.

Last year Governor Kristi Noem (R) vetoed a bill that would have allowed industrial hemp last year, saying it could lead to full marijuana legalization. She had threatened to veto the issue again this year, but recently changed her mind.

This year is set to be another big one for drug reform in the United States. Not so in Iowa, where politicians with old-timey views on science and personal freedom insist on preserving strict prohibition.

Take a look at the six states bordering Iowa, ranging from staunchly conservative to moderately liberal, and you can see how embarrassing the situation is. Iowa already has some of the region’s harshest criminal penalties for marijuana possession, and there’s a good chance we will look even worse by comparison at the end of 2020.

Despite the drubbing that marijuana stocks took in 2019, it was still a year filled with cannabis firsts. We witnessed Canada become the first industrialized country to launch derivative pot products and watched Illinois do what New Jersey and New York failed to do -- legalize recreational weed while also passing an expungement clause for those people with previous cannabis possession or use convictions.

 South Dakotans will vote this year on whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 years and older.

Secretary of State Steve Barnett said Monday his office has validated a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older and require the state Legislature to enact a hemp cultivation law.

Barnett said his office found the petition had enough valid signatures to put the proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot. A constitutional amendment requires 33,921 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.