North Dakota May Get Another Chance to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis in 2024

Updated: May 1, 2024 at 9:45 a.m. 
Updated: April 29, 2024, 2:31 p.m. to reflect the Secretary of State's approval of the format of the petition

A ballot measure petition filed by a group of 27 North Dakotans may give voters in the state yet another chance to legalize cannabis for adult use and to establish a regulated industry. North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe approved the format of the petition on April 25.

To qualify for the November 2024 ballot, 15,582 signatures must be gathered from eligible North Dakota voters by July 8, according to a statement from New Economic Frontier (NEF), the committee supporting the measure. Or, proponents also now have until April 25, 2025, one year after notice of approval, to collect signatures and submit them to the Office of the Secretary of State for review to qualify for the November 2025 ballot.

NEF plans to get the initiative on the November ballot this year, according to Steve Bakken, a former mayor of Bismarck, as well as a radio host and Burleigh County Commissioner, and the chair of the initiated measure’s sponsoring committee.

Voters in the state failed to pass Measure 2 in a major letdown in the November 2022 election, with 54.95% opposing the measure and 45.05% supporting it, and also failed to pass Issue 3 in the November 2018 election by a wide margin of 60% opposed to 40% in favor.

“The proposal would allow adults 21 and older to possess small amounts of cannabis and purchase products from registered cannabis establishments in North Dakota,” according to NEF’s statement.

Steve Bakken, a former mayor of Bismarck, as well as a radio host and Burleigh County Commissioner, is the chair of the initiated measure’s sponsoring committee.

“Cannabis legalization is coming, and it’s coming fast,” Bakken said in the statement. “We’ve got a choice here—let out-of-state interests call the shots, or take the lead ourselves. We’ve carefully crafted this initiative right here in North Dakota, making sure it fits what our community really needs. Let’s embrace this opportunity the North Dakota way, with common sense and local input guiding the way.”

The petition calls for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services or another agency, board, commission, or department designated by the state Legislature to oversee licensing of adult-use businesses.

Existing registered compassion centers could register as adult-use cannabis businesses, according to the petition.

No more than seven adult-use cannabis businesses “with the sole purpose of operating as a manufacturing facility,” and 18 adult-use cannabis businesses “with the sole purpose of operating as a dispensary” would be licensed under the proposal.

The measure would restrict individuals or organizations from holding ownership interests in more than one manufacturing facility, more than four dispensaries and “more than one dispensary within a twenty-mile [32.19 kilometer] radius of another dispensary.”

The initiative may face a tough road ahead, however, as voter support has not significantly increased in recent years. Fewer than half (47%) of registered voters believe cannabis should be legal, as of April 14, according to polling data from Civiqs. Forty-three percent believe it should not be legal, and 10% are unsure. 

Civiqs polls showed that as of Oct. 1, 2022, just prior to the failed passage of Measure 2, 46% of registered voters in North Dakota said they supported cannabis legalization; and as of Oct. 1, 2018, prior to voters failing to pass Issue 3, 48% believed cannabis should be legal. 

North Dakota voters legalized a medical cannabis program in the state by passing Measure 5 in the November 2016 election by a vote of 64% in favor to 36% opposed.