North Dakota to vote in November to legalize cannabis

Supporters of cannabis legalization collected 18,700 signatures in this northern US state. Of these 18,700 signatures, 14,637 were deemed valid. With the limit set at 13,452 signatures, their bill will make it onto the November ballot.

The law and its supporters

Intended to legalize the use of cannabis for those over 21, the law does, however, impose penalties for the distribution to or possession of cannabis by minors. Cannabis-related criminal records will be erased, and the state's immunity from compensation will be eliminated.

David Owen, Group President Legalize ND who initiated the petition said, «our group's campaign has successfully channeled the enthusiastic voter base for recreational cannabis». This was not the case in 2016 when the proposed law, which incidentally expired in March this year, had failed to meet with public assent. It wasn't very different in content, but it had seen the light of day in the same year that North Dakota approved a medical cannabis program.

Opponents of the law

North Dakota has a reputation as a conservative state compared to its southern neighbor and the measure's accession to the status of law is by no means a foregone conclusion. It will first have to win the support of the majority, beyond the existing opposition.

This opposition includes the North Dakota Sheriffs' and Deputy Sheriffs' Association, who argue that legalization would result in more problems for law enforcement, half of whose arrests are already cannabis-related (according to statistics from the Attorney General's Office). This argument, on the other hand, may come as a surprise, since if legalization is intended to stop cannabis-related arrests, it would be surprising if it increased them. It is true, however, that the subject would concentrate the efforts of police forces at least in the period of implementation of the legal framework before it is established.

The anti-legalization organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana which compares the legalization and trade of cannabis to Big Tobacco and proposes reports which denies the benefits of legalization in terms of public health and safety, has announced through its president Kevin Sabet that it will do its utmost to prevent the proposal from becoming law. These organizations are therefore preparing an opposing campaign, and the two camps are set to clash between now and November.