North Dakota Residents Likely to Vote on Legal Weed in November

On Monday, the North Dakota Legalization Initiative turned in 451 petitions with a total of 18,700 signatures requesting that the Secretary of State add the initiative to the ballot for voter review. The measure would also create a new subset of non-felony penalties for minors busted with marijuana. The bill would automatically expunge the criminal records of any adult arrested for low-level cannabis offenses. “They’re going to know how to see a bad driver who is on a substance, pull them over and stop them.”

Fully legal recreational pot may be a tall order for a state that has only just barely managed to establish a medical cannabis program, however. Even though the implementation of this program has been painfully slow, Owen is still confident that the state’s voters will support his legalization measure.

The initiative managed to exceed the 13,452 signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot, but the Secretary of State must validate the signatures within the next 35 days before it can be officially approved.