MITCHELL, SD — Today, gubernatorial candidate and Congressman Dusty Johnson announced Safer South Dakota, an initiative which aims to hold drug dealers accountable and reduce South Dakota’s drug overdose deaths through targeted prevention and accountability.
“As I speak with law enforcement and victims, it’s clear South Dakota can do better,” said Johnson. “My plan ensures we have increased accountability and the improved tools needed to tackle the drug epidemic and go after drug dealers.”
Safer South Dakota will focus on the following areas:
- Offender Accountability: On Day 1, Johnson will create the Supervision and Release Task Force, with representatives from law enforcement, the judicial branch, and the Board of Pardons and Paroles to improve probation and parole supervision of offenders. The task force will also aim to reform the commutation and clemency process in South Dakota to help ensure violent criminals are prevented from repeatedly harming the public. This task force will be co-chaired by Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar and former Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom. The South Dakota State Fraternal Order of Police was consulted and will have a member on the task force.
- Consequences for Drug Dealers: As Governor, Johnson will introduce legislation to create real consequences for dealers of fentanyl and methamphetamine by creating a presumption of distribution for offenders possessing large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
- Parental Notification: Johnson will introduce legislation to explicitly require schools to provide parental notification when a minor has an overdose or drug-related emergency. Other states, including Virginia, have implemented similar steps to make sure parents are notified when their child needs help.
- Real-Time Tracking for Overdose Data: As Governor, Johnson will commit to providing real-time tracking for overdose data and providing yearly updates to the state legislature. This will ensure community advocates and elected officials can better identify gaps that can be addressed in real time. Thanks to the leadership of Republicans in Congress and President Trump, national overdose deaths are down 19.7%. But in South Dakota, these rates are only down 11.7% and opioid-related deaths are on the rise.
