North Dakota could have a legalization proposal in this year’s vote

Activists in North Dakota took a big step this week to present a cannabis legalization measure to state voters in November.

The group known as New Approach North Dakota said it filed boxes’ worth of signatures at the Secretary of State’s office in the capital, Bismarck, on Monday in a bid to secure the measure for this year’s vote.

According to local TV station KFYR, the group’s organizers “have submitted a petition with more than 25,000 signatures,” which is “more than 10,000 more than they need to put the issue up for a vote in November.”

The State Secretariat now has until August 15 “to check the signatures and determine whether the measure is included on the ballot,” according to the broadcaster.

If the measure qualifies for the vote, it could serve as another test case for how much attitudes on the issue have changed, even in the most conservative corners of the United States.

It will also show how much public opinion in North Dakota has changed since 2018, when voters in the state rejected a ballot initiative that would have legalized recreational cannabis.

“In a period of four years, let’s call it, we are no longer surrounded by illegitimate states, everything around us is legal. And that just goes to show that the entire culture and attitude, not just in North Dakota but in the Midwest as a whole, is changing in that way,” said David Owen, campaign manager for New Approach North Dakota, as quoted by KFYR.

If the measure qualifies for the vote and receives voter approval, individuals in North Dakota “who are 21 years of age and older will no longer be penalized for using marijuana in the privacy of their home,” according to a summary of the measure , which would allow “adults may possess up to one ounce of cannabis, up to four grams of cannabis concentrate, and up to 500 milligrams of cannabis in any infused product” and “grow up to three cannabis plants in a secure, enclosed location on their property.”

The new law would also establish “a system of registered pharmacies, manufacturers and testing laboratories” with each product “analyzed to determine potency and screened for unsafe contaminants” and “tracked, traced and accurately labeled in an inventory system from seed to sell.” .”

The title of the proposal reads: “This action taken would create a new chapter of the North Dakota Century Code. It would allow the production, processing and sale, possession and use of various forms of cannabis by people aged 21 and over under localized conditions; direct a government agency to regulate and register adult cannabis production establishments, dispensaries and their representatives; permit a person to possess a limited quantity of cannabis products; provide protections, restrictions, penalties and employer rights in relation to the use of cannabis products; and provide that dues are to be used in the administration of the chapter.”

North Dakota organizers may have been encouraged by what they saw at their southern neighbors.

A majority of South Dakota voters approved an amendment legalizing adult recreational cannabis use in the 2020 election, only to see the law unraveled amid a legal challenge led by Republican state Gov. Kristi Noem.

But polls have shown that South Dakota voters remain supportive of legalization (while disapproving of Noem’s handling of the issue), and activists there are aiming to come up with another proposal for this year’s vote.

After the South Dakota vote, some Republican lawmakers in North Dakota introduced bills legalizing marijuana in the state, in what has been described as an attempt to “block through the constitution citizen-led efforts to legalize marijuana after South Dakota voters did just that.” had done last year.”