North Dakota Organization Pushes for Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

According to a recent report by the Associated Press, an organization called "New Economic Frontier" in North Dakota, USA, is seeking approval from the Secretary of State to include the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana in the state's November ballot.

It is reported that the voting campaign needs to collect 15,582 valid signatures by July 8 in order to include the issue on the November ballot. Otherwise, the organization will have a year to collect enough signatures to wait for the next voting opportunity.

This initiative will also allow residents of North Dakota who are 21 years old and above to use marijuana in their homes, with each adult allowed to grow up to three marijuana plants and a maximum of six plants per household.

The organization's chairman, former Bismarck Mayor Steve Bakken, stated that the organization was able to collect enough signatures before the deadline at the end of July.

In 2022 and 2018, ballot measures to legalize marijuana for adult use in North Dakota were rejected with 55% and 59% of the vote against, respectively. In 2016, a medical marijuana measure passed through the ballot voting. In 2021, a bill to legalize and tax recreational marijuana, led by the Republican-controlled state House, was rejected by the Republican-majority Senate.