Could election see cannabis legalization pass in North Dakota?
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Could election see cannabis legalization pass in North Dakota?

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With the primary election behind us, candidate and ballot measure campaigns for the November general election are coming into view. Our November ballots will feature anywhere from three to six measures, depending how the next weeks go for three signature-gathering efforts for initiated measure petitions.

Measures 1-3 are a sure thing in November, as they all came from the Legislature. Whether potential Measures 4-6 come into existence depends on their petition committees’ capacities to meet their summer deadlines for signatures. Only one of these petitions is statutory, meaning that it would change law in the North Dakota Century Code rather than our state constitution. This statutory petition seeks to legalize cannabis for adult use. The North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office needs to receive 15,582 valid signatures prior to midnight on July 8 for this cannabis legalization measure to make it onto our November ballots. After signatures are submitted, the secretary of state will review them and determine whether the issue of cannabis legalization can be brought to a popular vote in North Dakota once again.

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The committee sponsoring the cannabis legalization measure refers to its effort as the “New Economic Frontier.” The committee is led by former Bismarck Mayor Steve Bakken. Other committee members include Patrick Hart, the Democratic-Nonpartisan League candidate for lieutenant governor, and Matthew Ruby, a Republican serving in the North Dakota House of Representatives.

The petition is similar to the cannabis legalization measure from 2022 that received 45% yes votes. Much of the exhaustively detailed regulatory text is nearly identical, but there are a few differences worth noting. Namely, the current petition mentions a pathway for “compassion centers” — medical marijuana manufacturing facilities and dispensaries — to become authorized for recreational adult-use cannabis. The current petition also requires that recreational cannabis regulatory fees be deposited into the existing medical marijuana fund instead of a separate fund. Additionally, the current petition directs the government to pay for any necessary criminal history record checks of cannabis business agents, and it articulates somewhat different manufacturing facility fees and allowable quantities for sale and possession.

The current petition would legalize possession (by adults age 21 and over) of up to 1 ounce or 28.35 grams of marijuana, 4 grams of cannabinoid concentrate, 1,500 milligrams of THC in the form of a cannabinoid product (but no more than 300 mg if an edible product), and three cannabis plants’ worth of marijuana if kept at the same location as the plants. Transdermal patches could contain up to 50 mg of THC. The current petition also provides more detail on allowable personal use and possession of cannabis. See 1.e. of Section 19.24.2.28 of the petition for these finer details, which can be found at vote.ND.gov via the “Ballot Measures” subsection of the “Voter” section of the page’s menu.

Some might wonder whether it makes sense for the New Economic Frontier group to put forth a cannabis legalization petition so soon after the failure of the similar 2022 measure as well as the failure of the 2018 legalization measure. I think it does make sense.

Being that it is a presidential election, November 2024 will turn out certain voters who sat out the interim elections of 2018 and 2022. I suspect that those who will vote this fall — but did not vote in recent interim elections — are more open to cannabis legalization than the vote-in-every-election crowd. I also think the intensity of turnout efforts on the part of the New Economic Frontier campaign could make or break cannabis legalization in North Dakota.

Ellie Shockley is a political psychologist, social scientist and education researcher. This column represents her personal views and not the views of any organization. She completed a doctorate at the University of Chicago and a postdoctorate at Nebraska. She lives in Mandan. Find her past columns at EllieShockley.com.

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