The Libertarian Party of South Dakota condemns the lawsuit filed by Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom and Highway Patrol Superintendent Rick Miller contesting Amendment A, which passed in November with 54% of the vote.
Over 50,000 signatures were turned in last November by South Dakotans For Better Marijuanna Laws to place Amendment A, a measure that legalizes marijuana, on the ballot for the 2020 election. LPSD Communications Director Devin Saxon, who gathered over 500 of those signatures, feels that the people of South Dakota deserve better from their law enforcement officials:
“Citizens of this great state are done a severe disservice when public officials abuse their offices and their qualified immunity by burdening taxpayers with hefty legal expenses if and when they lose their case. Sheriff Kevin Thom and Superintendent Rick Miller are tasked with enforcing the laws of South Dakota, not shaping those laws. Using taxpayer money to leverage influence in the people’s right to petition our grievances and amend our Constitution is a dangerous slope to slip down.”
Collin Duprel, West River Coordinator of the Libertarian Party of South Dakota questions the plaintiff’s motives in filing the lawsuit and whether resources could be better spent elsewhere:
“The blatant waste of our tax dollars for a lawsuit against the language of an initiative that will only serve as a temporary delay of legalization if successful, is ironic coming from a Sheriff who’s territory has seen an exponential increase in violent crime and methamphetamine usage under his tenure. In the spirit of Public Safety, Sheriff Kevin Thom ought to be focusing on actual threats to society, not trying to undermine the will of the people because of personal bias.”
Students heavily impacted by the laws against marijuanna in South Dakota, and whose votes were largely a part of the success of Amendment A, also voiced their concerns about the lawsuit.
“It’s time for South Dakota to truly become a safe haven for liberty and justice for all by allowing the will of the people and A+26 to go through exactly how the people intended it to be,” said Students for Liberty Local Coordinator Corgan Larson.
The Hedgehog Watchdog 