Third Time's The Charm? North Dakota Ballot Initiative Group Gets Green Light To Collect Signatures For Marijuana Legalization
Over a week after a group of North Dakotans filed a 2024 ballot measure petition to legalize recreational cannabis, the state's top election official gave the green light for signature gathering. The New Economic Frontier, a cannabis advocacy committee behind the push, needs to garner and submit 15,582 valid signatures to Secretary of State Michael Howe by July 8 to place the measure on the November general election ballot. Under a measure's text that spans 20 pages, recreational marijuana use at home would be legal for those 21 and older. Moreover, the measure proposes setting up a regulatory framework for the production and processing of cannabis as well as prohibited uses. Steve Bakken, a Burleigh County commissioner and former Bismarck mayor, who is behind the initiative, said law enforcement resources "should be directed someplace a little more effectual."