On November 8th, North Dakota voted on Statutory Measure 2, an initiative that would legalize recreational cannabis in the state. Now, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, The Associated Press projects Statutory Measure 2 will not pass, meaning adult-use cannabis will remain illegal in North Dakota.
Here were the key components of North Dakota’s recreational cannabis initiative:
- It would have allowed adults aged 21 and older to possess one ounce of recreational cannabis and four grams of cannabis concentrate.
- Public consumption of cannabis would have remained illegal.
- Any anti-drug policies that businesses had set for their employees would not have been changed by default.
- The Department of Health and Human Services would develop regulations on the market over the course of the next year. This department would also have handled the distribution of cannabis retail licenses.
- Only 18 retailers would have received retail licenses at first. Each retailer would have to pay a registration fee of $90,000 every two years.
The North Dakota Senate previously rejected a bill to legalize cannabis in 2021.
Medical marijuana will remain legal in the state.
See GreenState’s map of cannabis legality by state here: