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North Dakota Brings Back Hope for Legal Cannabis

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Cannabis proponents in North Dakota had pretty much given up on fighting the good fight for this year, as chances to legalize cannabis seemed to be dead in the water. Now, at the last minute, lawmakers brought back the cannabis debate, by a 3-2 margin.

Thanks to this last-minute vote, the North Dakota State Senate ended up hearing a bill that could put the issue on the ballot for 2022, a move that would give state citizens more say over what legalization would look like. 

Many were ready to give up when a package of bills to legalize cannabis in 2022 failed, but the ballot measure ended up making it further in the process than the previous, failed bills. Unlike some states that look to stonewall voters by pushing issues through the legislative process, lawmakers in North Dakota were concerned that voters needed to have more of a say in what legal cannabis should look like.

Now, in this unique situation, lawmakers will be proposing this measure for the ballot, a measure that would “authorize and regulate the manufacture, sale and use of adult-use cannabis.”

“I don’t believe, especially in the constitution, that we should put the regulation in the constitution. But we can put the idea on the constitution,” Senator Dick Dever (R-Bismarck) said.

In addition to this last-minute move, two other cannabis ballot measures are being proposed for the 2022 voting season. All three of these could make it to the ballot at the same time, legalizing all aspects of legal cannabis, if they gain enough support and traction. 

While it may have seemed for a moment like North Dakota fell behind on the push for legal cannabis, much like their neighbors to the South, it appears that advocates are dedicated when it comes to finding a way through the legislative process.