North Dakota voters will decide on Election Day whether to approve a citizens’ initiated ballot measure legalizing the use, home cultivation, and retail sale of cannabis.
State officials have confirmed that advocates with the group New Economic Frontier turned in the requisite number of signatures to qualify the proposed measure for the November ballot. If approved, adults will be permitted to purchase cannabis products from licensed retailers or home-cultivate up to three plants for their own personal use. Under the plan, retail sales of cannabis products would begin no later than October 1, 2025.
The vote will mark the second time that North Dakotans have weighed in on the legalization issue. Voters rejected a similar measure in 2022.
North Dakotans join voters in Florida and South Dakota, who also will be deciding on legalization measures this fall.
Florida voters will decide on a constitutional amendment permitting existing medical cannabis facilities to engage in adult-use marijuana sales. Because that ballot proposal is in the form of a constitutional amendment, it requires approval from a super-majority of Florida voters (60 percent) to become law. Polling released today by the University of North Florida finds that 64 percent of likely voters (79 percent of Democrats, 50 percent of Republicans, and 63 percent of independents) back the amendment.
In June, the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office confirmed that supporters of a proposed statewide ballot initiative legalizing the possession, use, and cultivation of marijuana turned in the requisite number of signatures to qualify it for the November ballot. The initiative will appear on the ballot as Measure 29. It will be the third time that South Dakota voters have weighed in on the issue.
Activists in Arkansas and Nebraska have also submitted signatures in favor of proposed ballot questions. Those efforts are awaiting certification from state officials.
In Texas, voters in the cities of Bastrop (population 11,200), Dallas (population: 1.3 million), and Lockhart (population 15,000) will decide on municipal ballot measures prohibiting local law enforcement from making low-level marijuana-related arrests.
Local activists in Charleston, West Virginia (population: 47,000) have also gathered sufficient signatures in support of a similar municipal measure, the Sensible Marijuana Ordinance. Council members must either approve the measure or place it on the November ballot.
Additional Election 2024 coverage is available from NORML.
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