MINOT — Marijuana is already legal in North Dakota. At least for medicinal reasons. But the backers of a new ballot measure want recreational use of marijuana to be legal as well.
The campaign is calling itself New Economic Frontier. The North Dakota Secretary of State's office just approved their measure for circulation. They have until July 8 to get it on the November ballot, though if they miss that deadline they'll still have a year from the date they began collecting signatures to qualify for the next statewide vote.
Steve Bakken, the former mayor of Bismarck and current member of the Burleigh County Commission, joined this episode of Plain Talk with co-host Ben Hanson and me to discuss the measure.
North Dakotans have said no to recreational marijuana before, though the "no" side of the argument has been shrinking.
In 2018, just over 40% of voters cast their ballots for a proposal to legalize.
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In 2021, another legalization proposal passed in the state House of Representatives on a 56-38 vote, though it failed in the state Senate with just 10 senators approving it.
In 2022, just over 45% of voters cast a ballot for another legalization proposal.
Bakken says that's progress, and they're relying on it to get this measure over the finish line, though Bakken says he isn't planning on partaking if it's successful. "I'm not interested in using it," he said, but he does think the status quo creates problems, such as dangerous marijuana products mixed with other drugs.
"It's tragic when you see someone who smokes some cannabis and then dies from a fentanyl overdose," he said.
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