Activists in North Dakota received permission to begin their signature collection effort for a recreational cannabis legalization ballot measure in January 2021. This gave them a year to collect enough valid signatures to put the measure on the 2022 ballot. 

The proposed measure would have legalized recreational cannabis for adults 21 and over. It would also allow the legislature to license and regulate the recreational cannabis market. Home-growth options would be available for up to 12 plants in a private home. Finally, public consumption of recreational cannabis would remain banned under this measure.

In May 2021, activists discovered they needed to collect 4,000 additional signatures after the state’s population numbers updated following the 2020 census. North Dakota saw a 16 percent increase in population. This required activists to collect 31,164 signatures to qualify their measure for the 2022 ballot. And they had less than a year to do so. 

According to a sponsoring committee member, Dustin Peyer, activists collected around 19,500 signatures over 2021, despite spikes in Covid-19 cases and extreme winter weather. 19,500 “is a lot of signatures or an unpaid volunteer effort,” Peyer said. 

“We grew support across the state through a network of small businesses,” Peyer added. “The biggest obstacle is those who are pushing the hardest are disabled, parents, business owners, or have generally a lot going on in their life.”

2021 Legislative Session

Previously, the North Dakota House approved a measure that would have legalized recreational cannabis and its sales for adults 21 and over. However, the Senate overturned the measure and dismissed the bill for the rest of the session. The Senate also overturned a bill that would decriminalize the possession of recreational cannabis. Additionally, the Senate rejected a measure to move the recreational cannabis bill to the 2022 ballot for voters to decide. 

Next Steps

Having missed the 2022 signature deadline hasn’t stopped activists from pushing forward. They are looking at submitting two measures for the 2024 ballot. The first measure would be an expansion to the state’s medical cannabis program to make it more accessible to more patients and open up the program to more qualifying patients. The second measure would, again, look to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and over. 

No details are available on these measures yet as they haven’t been finalized or submitted to the Secretary of State to validate for signature collecting. But they are in the works. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest. 

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