North Dakota Receives 17 Applications to Grow Marijuana; former NAACP Head Calls For Full Legalization in Maryland

17 apply so far to be medical pot growers in North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Health Department has received 17 applications so far from potential manufacturers of medical cannabis.

Medical Marijuana Division Director Jason Wahl says the deadline was Thursday, April 19, 2018, but it has been extended until April 23, 2018, because of a time error in the state’s application posting.

Wahl says a seven-member panel made up of health officials, citizens, law enforcement officers and a state lawyer will begin examining the applications on Monday. Applicants had to submit a $5,000 nonrefundable fee.

The state will register two manufacturers.

State officials have been developing the medical marijuana system since legislators crafted a law a year ago. That followed voters’ approval in November 2016 of Statutory Initiative 5, which legalized medical cannabis. It passed with 63.79 percent of the vote.

Wahl says medical marijuana should be available in North Dakota by the end of 2018.

Maryland gubernatorial candidate speaks at marijuana summit

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous says marijuana should be fully legalized, and people who live in areas that have been the most negatively affected by the nation’s drug laws should get preference for jobs in the industry.

Jealous spoke Friday at the National Cannabis Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.

He has made full marijuana legalization for adults a part of his criminal justice reform plan to improve public safety and reduce the prison population.

Jealous also says people who have been convicted of crimes related to marijuana should have their records expunged, once the drug is fully legalized.

Jealous is the former national president and CEO of the NAACP. He is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of Maryland.