SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Recreational marijuana is currently illegal in South Dakota, but that might change on Nov. 5 when voters make a decision on Initiated Measure 29. IM 29 would legalize marijuana’s ingestion, possession, growth and distribution for people who are at least 21 years old.
The measure could pave the way for a new era for local law enforcement. Ed Moses of Missouri and Alan Welsh of South Dakota each served more than 25 years with their state’s highway patrol, but they have entirely different views on marijuana.
“Why do we want to bring in a third social drug when the social drugs are our biggest problem in cost and impact on health?” Moses said Friday.
Moses is allied with the nonprofit Protecting South Dakota Kids. He takes an argument someone in favor of legalization could use to make a point of his own.
“They say, ‘Well let’s legalize it, and it’ll take away law enforcement time,'” Moses said. “Did alcohol do that? Ask any officer how much time we spend with alcohol problems and challenges.”
Welsh also implores people to talk to an officer, but he’s focusing on a different question.
“I don’t think there’s an aggressiveness with it, and I would say go out there and talk to any police officer on the street and ask if they would rather deal with somebody that’s drunk or somebody that’s high,” Welsh said Friday. “I’d really question the honesty if they say the latter.”
For him, the question is a matter of an individual having control over what they want to do.
“I think it’s all about freedom, since we’re talking 21 years or older, so I think a person should have the choice if they want to use it, if they don’t want to use it,” Welsh said.
Welsh is an owner of Dakota Herb, a medical marijuana dispensary with four locations in South Dakota. Should recreational marijuana become legal, they will seek to sell that product.
