Other tax distribution would include 20 percent to the Department of Health for drug and alcohol abuse programs and for a public education campaign about the risks of drugs and alcohol. Thirty percent will be distributed to the general fund, and the final 10 percent would go to South Dakota law enforcement for training, detection dogs and education programs to aid youth diversion.

Section 26 of the measure lays out provisions on the sale and use of recreational marijuana. It would allow recreational use in public places and would not allow the drug to be used while operating a moving vehicle. Municipalities would be allowed to prohibit the operation of marijuana stores and cultivation facilities but only through a public vote.

If the measure is passed, section 25 would also commute the sentences of offenders who had been convicted or are charged with nonviolent marijuana offenses before the measure was passed.

"We are not doing our state and its residents any favors by imprisoning people for nonviolent cannabis crimes," Mentele said. "The savings alone on the court and judicial system is millions of dollars."

But Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom sharply disagrees with that assessment. "That is bad idea and a bad plan," Thom said.