For the second time since 2018,  , North Dakota , voters this public vote will decide whether to legalize recreational cannabis.
Marijuana blossoms are ready for harvest.
Supporters of Determine 5 say the plan differs from previous versions, as it was crafted by , North Dakota , inhabitants, aligns with regional values, and promises an economic enhance through taxes and fees. Legislation, according to opponents, raises societal and police issues and lacks the financial benefits that its supporters claim.
If approved, the legislation would establish legalization for those over 21 and establish restrictions on the number of business growing infrastructure and dispensaries. Additionally, it may limit the number of specific plants that can be grown and the amount of cannabis and THC-based products that can be possessed.
Chairman of the legislation’s funding committee , Steve Bakken , told the Tribune that he believes the legalization of marijuana in , North Dakota , is “only a matter of period”, and that this year’s edition gives entire control to the Senate and condition. Bakken is a , Burleigh County Commission  , representative and a former president of , Bismarck.
” We wanted to make sure that what does eventually pass is feasible for law enforcement, the Legislature, the , Attorney General’s Office, the jury system, and fits into era code of previously existing rules”, Bakken said.
Marijuana petition 1 ( copy ) ( copy )
The Secretary of State’s Office at the North Dakota Capitol in July 2024 delivered containers of appeals to the measure’s supporters to legalize recreational cannabis.
” And that is why we created Measure 5 with such a conservative design that the state has the authority to manage it, license it, govern it, check whether the quality is present, check whether the purity is present, and therefore impose taxes as necessary.”
The projected fiscal effects of the estimate for the 2025-27 state funds phase includes revenues of$ 10.2 million, expenses of$ 8.3 million, and an unknown amount of additional costs associated with behavioral health and social effect, according to the vote language.
Bakken added that the measure’s language does nothing to alleviate restrictions on drug use that public and private companies might already have in position.
” You’re going to have to also be required to complete a drug test if you’re required to do so right now.” None of that adjustments”, Bakken said. And the opponents like to claim that there are n’t enough workers here. That does n’t change the worker pool. With Determine 5’s change, nothing about the employer pool.
Mark Friese, a former , Bismarck , police officer and a criminal defense attorney of 20 times based in , Fargo, proponents for the legalization of cannabis because he believes the ongoing crimes associated with its use is bad policy.
” I’m not advocating for weed use. I’m in favor of legalizing behavior by people 21 or older who may make their own decisions, and stop making offenders out of our people, according to Friese.
” The individuals who use cannabis will continue to use it,” he said. If they ca n’t obtain it legally in , North Dakota, they’re going to obtain it legally in , Canada , or , Montana , or , Minnesota, or after November,  , South Dakota, or wherever they’re going to get it”, he said.
Pat Finken, president of the , Brighter Future Alliance, is considered the designer behind the battle of past legislation work in 2018 and 2022.
” What ( it ) comes down to is simply this: marijuana is not safe”, Finken said. ” It’s not some harmless recreational opportunity. It’s a drug”.
And normalizing drug use is bad for society as a whole, according to Finken and the points of view made by others, including the state’s Catholic bishops.
In an open letter, Bishops , David Kagan , and , John Folda , of the , Bismarck , and Fargo Dioceses, respectively, reminded parishioners that , Pope Francis , recently spoke against legalizing drugs because of potentially adverse socioeconomic effects.
Finken also refuted Bakken’s claim that marijuana use has no impact on the labor market.
Many of the positions that Finken was referring to are in the energy and transportation sectors, where employers demand pre-employment screening and random drug testing.
” They ca n’t recruit people without a clean drug screen, and that’s getting harder and harder every day. That goes for truck drivers, for oilfield workers, all that”, he said. ” I mean, it’s hard enough to find people to work … And we need more soldiers. We need more heavy equipment operators, more truckers, all those things. And all of that is at odds with this.
Friese refuted some of the opponents ‘ claims, arguing that the end to marijuana use might have a beneficial impact on society. Marijuana convictions, according to Friese, prevent people from serving in the military, working in a variety of federal jobs, enrolling in medical or pharmacy school and, in some cases, getting access to housing.
” The consequences for these offenses do n’t match the conduct”, Friese said. ” I believe that this ( legalization ) will have both positive and negative social effects.” But, on balance, the negative consequences of diminishing our workforce because they’re criminals, denying people those opportunities I discussed earlier, I think are not worth the cost of continuing to keep this a crime”.
Recreational cannabis is legal in 24 states, two , U. S.  , territories ( Guam , and the , Northern Mariana Islands ) and the , District of Columbia, according to the , National Conference of State Legislatures.  , Montana , and , Minnesota , allow it, and dispensaries in , Montana , report that more than 30 % of customers drive in from , North Dakota, according to Bakken. Passage of Measure 5, he argues, would keep those consumers buying locally, boosting , North Dakota ‘s , revenue and helping residents avoid potential issues with federal authorities.
” Because it’s not legal in , North Dakota, as soon as you cross that state line, you’re now committing a federal offense. You are trafficking. But people do n’t connect the two”, Bakken explained.
Previous attempts to legalize marijuana in 2018 and 2022 failed. More than 59 % of voters rejected legalization in 2018, and nearly 55 % rejected the attempt in 2022, according to the , North Dakota , Secretary of State’s Office.
Election 2024 Marijuana
FILE – A cashier rings up a marijuana sale,  , July 1, 2017, at a cannabis dispensary in , Las Vegas.
If voters approve legalizing marijuana, then, according to language contained within Measure 5, legal use of cannabis by people 21 years and older would go into effect on , Dec. 5. The measure’s passage would also require the state , Department of Health and Human Services , to develop and implement an adult-use cannabis program to allow for the commercial production and processing of cannabis and the sale of marijuana products no later than , Oct. 1, 2025.
Mandan Police , Chief , Jason Zeigler , said language contained in the measure would create difficulties for law enforcement. Ziegler also serves as president of the , North Dakota Association of Chiefs of Police, a group that includes county sheriffs, deputies and police officers, and opposes the legalization of pot.
” People who say it’s not addictive — there’s studies out there that show that it is addictive. It’s just as addictive, if not more, than alcohol”, Ziegler said. ” We ca n’t control alcohol, right? DUIs continue to be problematic.
Ziegler cited the current testing and procedures for determining whether someone is intoxicated from the perspective of law enforcement. Long after the effects of intoxicating, or in many cases, up to 30 days, THC, the active ingredient that causes a user to experience a high, can be found in a person’s blood and urine. According to Ziegler, blood tests to detect THC levels may be invasive, but they might require law enforcement to obtain a search warrant for each test. Similarly, saliva tests in development might also be deemed invasive, necessitating a warrant.
To get that out, you must enter and evade the mouth. What makes a reasonable person believe that there wo n’t be a search warrant required for that either”? Ziegler asked. ” We have to have it on any other offenses, like rapes and sex offenses and stuff. That’s true. Why should n’t it be on this, you ask?
Ziegler said he also worries about the potential abuse of edibles, citing the potential for overdoses, especially in children.
Bakken and other Measure 5 supporters both acknowledged the legitimacy of opposing viewpoints, but they also believed that allowing, regulating, and generating revenue were all valid justifications for passage.
Do you want to stop it from entering the state, so you say “no”? Well, it’s already here, so if you’re not going to restrain it in a way that gives the state the authority and the power to do that, to manage that resource, then you run the risk of having an unfettered drug trade”, Bakken said.
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( c ) 2024 The Bismarck Tribune
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