The nation may not know who is president on election day, but the people have spoken when it comes to cannabis legislation. Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota have all legalized marijuana for adults 21 and older, as voters in each state approved their respective ballot initiatives at the ballot box. The Garden State has gone green as the closely watched state of New Jersey approved adult-use cannabis.

Two years ago, the Flandreau Santee Sioux had high hopes of capitalizing on the collapse of mariuana prohibition by opening a resort where cannabis could be purchased and consumed on their reservation in South Dakota. It all ended in fire and tears as the tribe decided to burn its first cannabis crop rather than risk the wrath of state and federal officials. But yesterday a jury in Flandreau delivered an implicit rebuke to South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, the marijuana resort's leading opponent, by acquitting a consultant who worked on the project of state drug charges.

On Friday morning, South Dakota prosecutors are expected to offer their opening arguments in a long-awaited trial against Eric Hagen, president and CEO of the Colorado cannabis consultancy Monarch America.

If convicted, Monarch America CEO Eric Hagen could face up to 15 years in prison for helping the Santee Sioux tribe set up their grow.

The case has drawn national attention and will be closely watched by leaders in both the cannabis industry and the Native American legal community. Issues of tribal sovereignty—and a potential precedent regarding the legal culpability of cannabis consultants—will play out in the old Moody County Courthouse, a small stone structure that sits lonely on a city block of grass in the county seat of Flandreau.

Florida

There’s a lot going on in Tallahassee as Sunshine State legislators forge the regulatory framework for Florida’s medical marijuana program.

Senators appear poised to advance legislation (SB 406) to welcome five new cannabis dispensaries to Florida by October. At least one would be minority-owned. Friday’s measure also requires four additional dispensaries within “six months after each instance of the registration of 75,000 qualifying patients with the compassionate use registry.”

That 75,000 figure is dramatically less than the previous threshold of 250,000.

South Dakota voters could boost funding to teachers and reduce the state's sales tax burden by supporting a ballot measure aimed at legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

And the measure's sponsors are hoping to emphasize that point as they ask voters to sign petitions that could put the question on the 2018 ballot.

Under the proposal, South Dakota residents 21 and older would be able to legally possess and use one ounce of cannabis or grow five marijuana plants. Non-residents would be limited to a quarter ounce.

House lawmakers have passed a bill that would allow people in South Dakota with a prescription to use a non-intoxicating compound found in marijuana if it’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Members voted 54-13 Tuesday for the bill, which will be sent back to the Senate to consider changes made in the House.

The legislation would exclude cannabidiol, if it receives FDA approved, from the definition of marijuana in state law and classify it as a Schedule IV controlled substance that could be prescribed.

Republican Rep. Spencer Gosch, the bill’s main House sponsor, says it would allow cannabidiol to be available to children with seizure disorders.

Most state legislatures reconvene in early January, and by February they’re in full swing, moving some bills forward and killing others in committee. This year 27 state legislatures are considering bills pertaining to cannabis in some form. (Well, okay: 26. Mississippi had two medical marijuana bills, but they’re already dead.) Some states are pushing full adult-use legalization. Others are pulling back on medical legalization measures adopted by voters last November. We’ll keep tracking them as they live and die. Most state legislatures adjourn by early June. Stay tuned.