Even though someone may not physically be in possession of marijuana, it can remain detectable in one’s system for several weeks after being consumed, placing a cannabis user at risk for arrest long after smoking, even just once.
Under current state law, a person can be charged with a felony drug offense if previous marijuana use shows up on a blood or urine test, a practice known as “marijuana possession by ingestion.”
Senate Bill 129, co-sponsored in both chambers by fourteen Republicans and three Democrats, would completely strike this law from the books in South Dakota.
The bill has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The proposal does not change current penalties for possessing marijuana, however. Possessing up to two ounces of marijuana in the state is a misdemeanor, punishable by fines of up to $2,000 and a year in prison.
There are no current measures pending in the state legislature to revise criminal penalties for marijuana possession.
South Dakota’s 2017 legislative session runs through the end of March.
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