FARGO — Will the third time be the charm for legalizing recreational marijuana in North Dakota?
After previous efforts in 2018 and 2022 failed, a filed ballot measure petition needs more than 15,582 signatures by July 8 to let voters decide this November.
The measure would let people 21 and older use marijuana at home, allowing for possession of up to 1 ounce of cannabis, 4 grams of concentrate, 300 milligrams of edibles, and grow up to 3 plants per person with a limit of 6 per household. Those limits that are roughly half of what’s allowed in Minnesota.
“We’re a little more constrictive in North Dakota, so we’re a little more conservative in North Dakota, and it’s going to mesh with the century code, law enforcement, public health, the attorney general’s office, and how the legislature can manage the process,” said New Economic Frontier chair and former Bismarck mayor Steve Bakken.
Several things are different compared to the vote that failed in 2022.
It increases the amount of cannabinoid products allowed from 500 miligrams to 1,500 milligrams, places restrictions on home growing, updates regulations for businesses, and combines state funds for adult-use and existing medical marijuana programs to streamline sales tracking.
Mark Jendrysik, a political science professor at the University of North Dakota, said the differences may be more along the lines of smoothing out rough edges than wholesale changes.
“I wonder…