North Dakotans won't be consuming medical cannabis edibles anytime soon. The two bills seeking to legalize the medical marijuana product category failed to advance through the state legislature.

The often-conservative state legalized medical marijuana in November 2016, and the first store opened on March 1, 2019.

Since the initial passage, citizens have faced roadblocks when attempting to become patients. Moreover, patients can consume only dried marijuana leaves and flowers or products containing THC, such as concentrates, tinctures, capsules, transdermal patches and lotions.

Those advocating for the policy change say that edible squares and lozenges are a much healthier option as they allow for more accurate dosing.

"This is something the people wanted," Vetter said. "The people voted for this, and now here we are, six years later, trying to give the people what they originally asked for."

However, those opposing the effort are raising concerns that cannabis edibles could be easily ingested by children possibly resulting in major health hazards.

Meanwhile, in terms of the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana, North Dakotans remain more conservative.

Measure 2, which would have legalized the possession and retail sale of marijuana, lost by nearly ten percentage points in November's midterms.

Photo: Courtesy of Elsa Olofsson on Unsplash