Two and a half weeks ago organizers of an effort to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota turned in a petition to the Secretary of State’s Office for review. That petition has now been approved and advocates of the measure can begin collecting the required 13,452 signatures to place the issue on the ballot for voter approval. A recent poll conducted by The Forum indicates that North Dakotan’s may actually be on board with total legalization. Organizers of the legalization effort intentionally kept word of the on-line poll to themselves in order to more fairly gauge public perception of the idea.
DuWayne Hendrickson of Minot – a former candidate for U.S. House – is a member of the sponsoring committee for the legalization effort. Hendrickson released this statement to The Minuteman:
“Today was a good day for North Dakota as our committee had its total legalization initiative approved by the Secretary of State. Now, it is on to gather signatures. As a sponsor of total legalization in North Dakota and for total legalization at the federal level, I believe the case is being made that cannabis is not as harmful as alcohol, legal/illegal pharmaceuticals, or tobacco. No attributed deaths. A winner for society.”
If this measure has sustained support that resembles anything close to the 64% of voters that approved Medical Marijuana in November of 2016, then advocates of its passage have a victory to look forward to.
Sources:
1. http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/ballot-measure-petition-seeks-full-legalization-of-marijuana-in-nd/article_417f7978-6bf8-506b-9708-e383fa4ed963.html 2. https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/supporters-turn-in-petition-to-legalize-cannabis-in-north-dakota 3. https://polldaddy.com/poll/9894934/?view=results&msg=voted
