With the recent news that New Approach ND has cleared the signature threshold easily to secure the newly christened Measure 1 onto the 2022 ballot, this deep red conservative state is once again mulling the legalization of cannabis.

Not that anyone should get their hopes up and start ordering seeds and grow lights or shopping for elaborate bongs on the Internet. Just four years ago a previous measure was defeated with nearly 60% of North Dakotans voting against legalization. In the aftermath, the activists and the committee supporting legal cannabis in this state had to regroup and soul search a bit about why it had failed.

North Dakota as a state has long had one of the highest marijuana arrest rates in the country, while also reporting the lowest amount of use of all of the states. Despite seeing 19 other states follow through on legalization, North Dakotans at the ballot box and the legislature have thus far been skeptical and skittish about implementing such reforms here; even with all of the economic development and opportunity they might bring.

New Approach North Dakota chairman David Owen of Grand Forks said he felt the 2018 attempt more resembled an activist’s wish list than a law that would appeal to the average voter. To him, getting the signatures was the easy part; sticking the landing on election day in November was an entirely different question. A variety of concessions would have to be made to convince as many of those no votes from 2018 as possible to change their minds.

Our own lawmakers have had plenty of examples to look at in other states to see what pitfalls they’ve encountered, and what has been required to maintain a functioning system around the cultivation, sale, and use of recreational cannabis. After the state senate shot down a bill that passed the house in 2021 that would have legalized cannabis, NAND decided to use it as a template for Measure 1.

“We wanted this to be a very readable measure so we didn’t get too off track with the different components that will need to go into place such as tax structure and expungement of records.” said committee member and District 40 Rep. Matthew Ruby.

But that may mean that some proponents and supporters might grate against some of the restrictions and limitations placed on their ability to partake in it. It might surprise some to find out that most states that have legalized cannabis only really allow its use or consumption in private locations or licensed hospitality businesses, and definitely not while behind the wheel.

Measure 1 is no different, making cannabis illegal to use it in public spaces, due to the committee ultimately concluding that a more “wide open approach” wasn’t the best option for North Dakota.

“This opinion has been brought up during almost all conversations I’ve had about the measure as well. We believe recreational use will pass at some point and we want to see it done in a way that fits our century code and way of life,” Ruby said.

Another driving force behind the push for recreational, is ironically the shoddy implementation of 2016’s medical marijuana bill, with many providers in the state like Sanford refusing to allow their doctors to prescribe it. According to the North Dakota Department of Health’s Division of Medical Marijuana, there are only 8,170 active patient cards, just 1% of the state’s population.

Self-medicating isn’t usually advisable, but patients in this state are not being given much of a choice despite voting to legalize medicinal cannabis, and that has consequences for anyone struggling to acquire their medical card. For context, according to state crime statistics for 2020, there were 3,586 arrests where marijuana or hashish were seized, nearly half of all drug arrests for that year, and this was after Governor Burgum decriminalized possession of certain amounts of cannabis in 2019.

“We’ve worked to improve the medical marijuana program but there is still a gap of people struggling to get help outside of prescription opioids. This measure is a great middle ground for those that want it to be regulated more and those who want to see a wide-open market and I hope people can get behind this. I hope the measure helps people,” said Ruby.

No matter what your beliefs are regarding cannabis use, at least we will have the chance to cast a vote one way or the other. Whether you believe we are ready to jump in the pool with the other legal states or maintain the status quo, North Dakota is paddling its own continue, as it always has. It will be interesting to see this conversation develop, as November approaches.