We’re rapidly being surrounded. South Dakota is caving.

South Dakota lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults while repealing much of the state’s new medical marijuana law.

The Adult-Use Marijuana Study Subcommittee, which has been studying the issue since June, voted to recommend a bill that would allow people over 21 to purchase up to 1 ounce (28 grams) of cannabis for recreational use. It would repeal most aspects of the medical marijuana law that voters passed last year, but still contain provisions for people under 21 to use marijuana for medical purposes.

The bill would still need to be cleared by a pair of legislative committees, the full Legislature next year, and the governor’s desk to become law. But lawmakers’ willingness to advance the issue showed a growing acknowledgment in the Republican-controlled Statehouse that recreational marijuana legalization has popular support.

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South Dakota lawmakers craft proposal for recreational pot (Rapid City, SD Journal, two hours ago)