For the third time since 2018, North Dakota voters this general election will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana.
Marijuana buds are ready for harvest.
Supporters of Measure 5 say the proposal differs from past versions, as it was crafted by North Dakota residents, aligns with local values, and promises an economic boost through taxes and fees. Opponents argue legalization raises social and enforcement issues, and lacks the economic benefits that supporters claim.
If approved, the measure would legalize marijuana for those over 21 and set limits on the number of commercial growing facilities and dispensaries. It would also cap the number of personal plants allowed and restrict the amount of cannabis and THC-based products that a person can possess.
Chairman of the measure’s sponsoring committee Steve Bakken told the Tribune that he believes the legalization of marijuana in North Dakota is “only a matter of time,” and that this year’s version gives full control to the Legislature and state. Bakken is a Burleigh County Commission member and a former mayor of Bismarck.
“We wanted to make sure that what does eventually pass is tenable for law enforcement, the Legislature, the Attorney General’s Office, the court system, and fits into century code of already existing laws,” Bakken said.
Marijuana petition 1 (copy) (copy)
Supporters of a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana delivered boxes of petitions to the Secretary of State’s Office at the North Dakota Capitol in July 2024.
“And that is why we crafted Measure 5 extremely conservatively — so that the state has all the power, (and) all the authority to manage it, license it, regulate it, make sure the quality is there, make sure the purity is there, and then subsequently tax it as they see fit.”
The estimated fiscal impact of the measure for the 2025-27 state budget period includes revenues of $10.2 million, expenses of $8.3 million, and an undetermined amount of additional costs associated with behavioral health and social impacts, according to the ballot language.
Bakken also emphasized that the language in the measure does nothing to lessen restrictions that public and private employers might already have in place regarding drug use.
“If you’re required to pass a drug test now, you’re going to have to still be required to pass a drug test. None of that changes,” Bakken said. “And the opponents like to say we have a shortage of workers. That doesn’t change the worker pool. Nothing about the worker pool changes with Measure 5.”
Mark Friese, a former Bismarck police officer and a criminal defense attorney of 20 years based in Fargo, advocates for the legalization of cannabis because he believes the continued criminality associated with its use is bad policy.
“I’m not advocating for marijuana use. I’m advocating legalizing conduct by adults 21 years of age or older — who can make their own decisions — and quit making criminals out of generations upon generations of our citizens,” Friese said.
“The people who are using marijuana are going to continue to use marijuana. If they can’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, chairman of the Brighter Future Alliance, is considered the architect behind the defeat of previous legalization efforts 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 according to Finken and points of view expressed by others including the state’s Catholic bishops, normalizing drug use is not good for society at large.
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 rebutted Bakken’s statement about the legalization of marijuana not affecting the labor market.
Many of the jobs that Finken was referring to are in the transportation and energy sectors, where employers require preemployment and random drug testing.
“They can’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 this works against all that.”
Friese countered some of the opponents’ arguments, highlighting that the elimination of criminality associated with marijuana use could instead be a positive as far as societal impacts are concerned. 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 don’t match the conduct,” Friese said. “I think there will probably both be positive and negative social consequences that result from this (legalization). 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 don’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 can’t control alcohol, right? We have problems still with DUIs.”
From an enforcement standpoint, Ziegler pointed to testing and measures in place now to determine if a person is intoxicated. THC, the active ingredient that gives a user a high, can be detected in a person’s blood and urine long after intoxicating effects wear off — in many cases, as long as 30 days. Ziegler noted that while field breath tests for alcohol aren’t considered invasive, blood tests to detect THC levels might be — and could require law enforcement to obtain a search warrant for each test. Similarly, saliva tests in development might also be deemed invasive, necessitating a warrant.
“You have to go in and evade the mouth to pull that out. So what makes a reasonable person think that we’re not going to have to have a search warrant 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 would we not have to have it on this?”
Ziegler said he also worries about the potential abuse of edibles, citing the potential for overdoses, especially in children.
Bakken said he and other supporters of Measure 5 are well aware of opposing positions, but they also believe that legalizing, regulating and producing revenue are all valid reasons for passage.
“Are you saying ‘no’ because you want to prevent it from coming into the state? 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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