Hippie Republican Rohl Pushes Pot; Senator Wismer Opposes Recreational Marijuana

In fealty to his sponsors’ agenda, the SDGOP spin blog regularly lambastes supporters of marijuana legalization, calling them “out-of-touch liberal hippies who have no relation to most South Dakota voters” who want drug dealers to move in next door. SDGOP campaigner-in-chief Kristi Noem has said that even the faint whiff of industrial hemp will weaken law enforcement and rip families apart.

We should thus expect the SDGOP spin blog to fry Republican District 1 Senate candidate Michael Rohl as a house-wrecking hippie dope-fiend:

Rohl said he agrees that much of the state favors the legalization of medical marijuana. And, he said, recreational marijuana also should be legal. Now, he said, there are hundreds of strains of marijuana, each with different effects. As an illegal product, those who want to buy go through a dealer and don’t know which variety they’re getting.

Rohl said buying through a “black market” dealer also opens up people to other illegal substances and pointed to the state’s methamphetamine problem as an example.

If legalized, Rohl said marijuana needs to be regulated and limited to users who are 21 or older [Elisa Sand, “Both District 1 Senate Candidates Say They’ll Be a Rural Voice,” Aberdeen American News, 2020.09.16].

…and endorse the restrained and reasonable incumbent from District 1, Democratic Senator Susan Wismer of Britton:

Wismer spoke in favor of legalizing medical marijuana but not recreational as it continues to be illegal at the federal level.

“It took us several years to get hemp legalized,” she said. “To me, the more important issue is getting medical marijuana legalized.”

Wismer said North Dakota voters approve legalizing marijuana, but state legislators have held up that up because of the regulatory structure needed [Sand, 2020.09.16].

For Republicans hewing to the party pot line, the choice for District 1 Senate is clear: don’t let Michael Rohl hurt cops and bring hippies and drug dealers to Sisseton, Webster, and Wilmot! Save South Dakota from reefer madness and vote for Senator Susan Wismer!

Related Reading: There is no scientific evidence that medical marijuana can fight coronavirus, but that’s largely because doctors and researchers are just starting to feel comfortable studying the previously universally illegal substance. However, one study has found that THC, the high-kicker in pot, can help mice survive lab torture meant to mimic bacteria-induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which resembles the cytokine storm that kills humans suffering from coronavirus. But smoking marijuana or any other corrosives will increase your chance of getting coronavirus and other respiratory infections.

Related Rescheduling: The Democratic leadership of the U.S. House yesterday decided it shouldn’t fiddle around with marijuana decriminalization until it passes the next round of coronavirus relief and gets through the general election, in part because Republicans have conflated the bill with defunding the police. So Michael Rohl must want to defund the police, too….