Steve Bakken
A committee circulating petitions to legalize marijuana in North Dakota has collected the signatures needed to get a measure on the November general election ballot, according to the committee chairman.
Chairman Steve Bakken, a Burleigh County commissioner and former Bismarck mayor, said last week that signatures so far have been self validated, but the group expects no discrepancies when the committee turns in petitions to the North Dakota Secretary of State next Monday.
The group needs to collect 15,582 signatures by July 8 to be eligible for the November ballot. The number represents 2% of North Dakota’s population. If the required signatures are not collected by July 8, measure sponsors still have until April 25 to collect enough validated signatures to get the measure on a future ballot.
Last April, the North Dakota Secretary of State approved the petition language to enable the New Economic Frontier ballot committee to begin collecting signatures for a measure that would legalize cannabis use for adults 21 and older.
“Once we know the bill is going to be on the ballot, then it turns into opportunities to talk about what cannabis can do for North Dakota from a judicial and law enforcement perspective,” Bakken said. “There’s a lot of different layers on this, and giving the public the information to make their own decision as a voter is vitally important.”
Poll results last Wednesday from Public Opinion Strategies showed voters oppose legal marijuana for adults 21 and older, 43% to 57%. Bakken said in his committee’s polling, New Economic Frontier found North Dakotans are mostly neutral to or in favor of the proposed measure. He said those behind the measure are not concerned about the Public Opinion Strategies poll.
Bakken explained that education will move polling more significantly in favor of the measure. Bakken said once the measure is on the ballot, the mission of New Economic Frontier will change to dispelling misconceptions when it comes to cannabis.
The measure committee plans to use multimedia, focus groups, town halls and press releases in its education campaign, which will focus on the conservative nature of the bill, state regulation and health benefits of cannabis as a medicine versus opiates.
Bakken said he has been surprised by the number of older people who have come forward in favor of the measure. He said many people have contacted New Economic Frontier to say they are excited about the measure because it would allow them to deal with aches and pains that come with age without turning to opioids or other prescription drugs.
“A lot of people are really interested in the edibles more so than the smoking,” Bakken said.
Supporters say the goal in legalizing marijuana is to boost the economy of some smaller communities and collect new taxes to improve the infrastructure in the state.
Bakken said taxation and regulation would lie on the state, but the goal with the measure is to provide language that can integrate seamlessly into state law. He made it clear the group is trying to avoid any interpretation issues between the various arms of the government.
He said the measure is intended to be conservative in nature, and the committee is trying to avoid “the Wild West” that other states have seen when passing similar measures. The group does not want an “unfettered recreational law in North Dakota. It’s very important to us that the state has the ability to regulate it, have oversight, license it, tax it how they see fit,” Bakken said.
He said he would like to see the state be in a position in which the black market could be “pulled out of the alleys and into the light of day.”
Bakken said many of the questions the group has fielded have centered on the workforce.
“If you have to pass a drug test now, you’d still have to pass a drug test,” he said in explaining that the measure does not hinder the workforce pool. “You’re still drawing from the same workforce with or without the measure.”
Bakken said the risk of people driving under the influence of cannabis is a personal responsibility issue.
“The systems are in place and the laws are already on the books. Don’t break the law,” he said.
He said he supports the ability of people to partake in cannabis in their home, but personally does not want to see people using it in public, and the ability of law enforcement to handle that is important.
According to Bakken, cannabis could potentially be less detrimental than alcohol, but he emphasizes the use of either should be a personal choice. He said law enforcement should be focused on opioids and mitigating problems, sometimes lethal, that accompany those drugs. He said the judicial system is glutted with minor offenses such as cannabis use, and resources could be better used elsewhere.
You can view the whole article at this link Marijuana measure initiative challenges status quo
