Petitions submitted in hopes of placing recreational cannabis back on ballot

BISMARCK — Carrying boxes filled with 22,444 signatures, members of the New Economic Frontier strutted Monday into the North Dakota Capitol to deliver petitions that, if approved, would for the third time ask voters in November to legalize recreational cannabis.

Signature validation is pending by the Secretary of State’s office as the minimum amount required for ballot approval is 15,552.

“As we’re getting closer and closer and closer, why this is important now is because at some point it’s going to pass,” said Steve Bakken, former Bismarck mayor and chairperson for the ballot-initiative group.

“So do we pass something that makes sense for North Dakota and we’re on the front side of it so we can manage it and the state can manage it, or are we going to wait to just clean up a mess?” he asked.

The proposed

measure

would allow adults who are at least 21 years old to possess an ounce of cannabis flower, 4 grams of concentrate and edible products containing up to 1500 milligrams. Residents could also grow up to three cannabis plants, with a limit of six per household.

Medicinal use of cannabis was legalized by voters in November 2016 with strict requirements concerning how sales are conducted and where product comes from. Current law surrounding recreational use remains stringent.

Possession is fully illegal outside of medicinal use, with varying charges relative to the amount apprehended. Small amounts tend to be misdemeanors, while larger amounts connected to any intent to sell or distribute lead to felony charges — especially if delivered. Charges are even further amplified if the crime occurs within 300 feet of a school.

Although people under the age of 21 who ingest cannabis can receive a class B misdemeanor, it is not a crime for those 21 and older to ingest the substance.

“We wanted something that made sense in North Dakota for North Dakota,” Bakken said. “So that’s what this initiated measure does. It gives the opportunity for voters to make a decision, and allows the state to seamlessly regulate, have oversight, license and subsequently tax the cannabis in a recreational fashion.”

Bakken said his group of petitioners wants to improve economic development, widen medicinal access to cannabis and help the criminal justice system in North Dakota. He said it was important to adopt their own initiative rather than using another state’s initiative.

“We don’t want to see something that comes in from out of state that the Legislature and the attorney general’s office has to spend a lot of time going back through and changing a bunch of laws, or the languages and laws, to make something fit,” Bakken said.

The Secretary of State’s office has 35 days — until Aug. 12 — to determine the validity of signatures. If the petition is approved, the proposed measure will be included on the November election ballot.

Peyton Haug joined The Forum as the Bismarck Correspondent in June 2024. She interned with the Duluth News Tribune as a reporting intern in 2022 while earning bachelor’s degrees in journalism and geography at the University of Minnesota Duluth.