Follow New Approach North Dakota and support their effort to legalize cannabis!

Earlier today, a committee of 25 North Dakotans filed a 2022 ballot initiative petition to legalize cannabis. After a review by the Secretary of State and Attorney General, New Approach North Dakota will begin collecting signatures from voters. The campaign must gather more than 15,582 valid signatures by July 11 to qualify the measure for the November 2022 ballot.

If approved by a majority of voters later this year, the measure would:

• Allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of cannabis and cultivate up to three plants in their homes;
• Establish retail cannabis stores, product manufacturers, testing laboratories, and other types of cannabis businesses; and
• Direct regulators to establish rules and implement the adult-use cannabis program by October 1, 2023. 

The full text of the initiative language can be found at www.NewApproachND.org/measure.

If you live in North Dakota, please get involved as a volunteer. The campaign will also be hiring full-time and part-time petition circulators. Potential applicants are encouraged to apply through the campaign’s website.

Be sure to sign up for email alerts on the New Approach North Dakota website to follow their progress. And if you have friends or family in North Dakota, please forward this email to them!

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Earlier today, the North Dakota House of Representatives approved two pieces of legislation to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older.

The proposals were introduced by Republican lawmakers who say they personally oppose legalization but are seeking to prevent a more permissive law from being enacted by voters via the 2022 ballot.

House Bill 1420 would permit adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, while home cultivation would be prohibited. The legislation directs the North Dakota State Health Council to adopt rules for implementing legal sales through a maximum of 18 state-licensed dispensaries by February 1, 2022. House lawmakers also approved House Bill 1501, which would impose a 10% tax on cultivators and a 15% tax on dispensary sales.

Both bills now head to the Senate. Gov. Doug Burgum has not indicated whether he would sign or veto the measures.

Stay tuned for more updates on the progression of marijuana policy reform legislation!

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Last week, Legalize ND submitted petition language to put an initiative to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana before the voters next November. Once the measure is approved for circulation by the secretary of state, activists must gather 13,452 voter signatures before July 6, 2020 to qualify for the ballot.

In 2018, North Dakotans rejected a proposal to legalize marijuana for adults 59% to 41%. This time around, however, Legalize ND worked closely with the North Dakota Legislative Council and argues the proposal is better written and addresses previous concerns. The 2020 measure would create a system to license marijuana businesses, establish a 10% tax on marijuana sales, and prohibit home cultivation. The initiative would also allow individuals to remove low-level marijuana convictions from their criminal records.

2020 is shaping up to be another big year for marijuana policy reform. Don’t sit on the sidelines. Check out the campaign’s website to get involved and support the effort to end marijuana prohibition in North Dakota!

Thank you.

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The first round of pardon applications, which you can access here, will be accepted until Aug. 10

Great news! In a unanimous decision last week, North Dakota's Pardon Advisory Council voted to allow individuals previously convicted of certain marijuana crimes to apply to have those offenses pardoned.

The new policy, supported by Gov. Doug Burgum and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, will wipe the slate clean — free of charge — for thousands of North Dakota residents with marijuana possession convictions on their records. This is a victory for justice and advocates of sensible marijuana policy reform. It will eliminate many hardships, such as obstacles to employment and housing, faced by individuals with prior marijuana records.

The attorney general estimates that up to 175,000 prior convictions will be eligible for pardon. Help spread the word and share the application with others. People who have struggled for years under the weight of a criminal record for marijuana deserve a chance to build a better life.

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Good news! With Gov. Doug Burgum’s signature on House Bill 1050, we’ve reached a milestone: half the states in the country have eliminated jail time penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana!

It is encouraging to see lawmakers in a conservative state like North Dakota acknowledge and rectify the injustice of jailing people for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Politicians can no longer ignore public support for marijuana policy reform, which is growing quickly in every part of the country.

North Dakota’s new law goes into effect on August 1 of this year. It reclassifies possession of up to a half ounce of marijuana as an infraction punishable by no jail time and a maximum fine of $1,000 for adults 21 and older. Previously, it was a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail in addition to a fine. The bill also reclassifies penalties for possession offenses involving amounts greater than a half ounce, and it calls on the Legislative Assembly to study adult-use legalization. A more detailed summary of HB 1050 is available here.

The compromise bill sent to Gov. Burgum by the legislature is far from ideal, but it is a substantial step in the right direction. We must keep pushing forward. Support our efforts to enact sensible marijuana laws around the country by becoming a contributor today!

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Contact your state legislators and ask them to support decriminalizing marijuana possession.

Great news! In a 37-10 vote, senators in North Dakota’s legislature passed legislation last Thursday to replace criminal penalties for possession of up to half an ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of $250. The proposal, introduced by Fargo Republican Sen. Kristin Roers, gained traction as the local marijuana policy reform organization, Legalize ND, announced plans to pursue a 2020 ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adult use.

Please take a minute to send a message to your state legislators and urge them to pass marijuana decriminalization this year!

Members of the North Dakota House narrowly defeated a similar decriminalization proposal earlier this year, but lawmakers are expected to reach an agreement on the details of this legislation and ultimately send it to Gov. Doug Burgum, who has expressed support for decriminalization in the past.

The bill would also establish a process for the state to study the possibility of legalizing marijuana for adult use. Advocates with Legalize ND say that passage of this law will not deter them from efforts to put a legalization measure on the ballot in 2020.

It’s encouraging to see state lawmakers acknowledging the harms of marijuana prohibition and taking steps to end arrests for low-level possession offenses. There is more work to be done, but thanks to the tireless work of local advocates, we are finally seeing significant progress in the North Dakota Legislature. 

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Election Day is finally here. For many months, the YES on 3 team has worked tirelessly to educate North Dakotans about the benefits of ending the wasteful and destructive policy of marijuana prohibition.

Now, all that’s left is to go out and VOTE! Look up polling locations here and set a time to go.

By passing Measure 3, North Dakota could send a powerful message about the strength of the legalization movement in this country. It all comes down to today. Be part of this historic reform effort and vote YES on Measure 3!

We’re eagerly waiting for the results to start coming in. Tonight could represent incredible progress for our movement. Go be part of it and vote!

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With less than three weeks until Election Day, efforts to pass Measure 3, which would legalize marijuana for adults in North Dakota, are ramping up. While opponents rely on the standard prohibitionist fear tactics, the Yes on 3 team is sharing a positive message of personal freedom and criminal justice reform with their neighbors across the state.

Please contribute here to help them reach and educate more voters. And if you live in North Dakota, commit to voting for Measure 3 and encourage friends, colleagues, and neighbors to do the same.

In a sign of growing support, state Republican legislative leaders Rep. Rick Becker and Rep. Luke Simons recently made public statements in favor of the legalization initiative. Legendary travel host and anti-prohibition activist Rick Steves also visited the state to tout the benefits of legalizing marijuana, which he’s seen in his home state of Washington.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of volunteer advocates, North Dakota could become the next state to legalize marijuana for adults.

Please donate to the campaign and give the Yes on 3 team the help they need to fight back against their opponents’ anti-marijuana propaganda. And follow the campaign by liking their Facebook page.

With our help, they can win this.

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Learn more about the campaign and make a donation here.

Last month, a team of grassroots activists beat the odds and succeeded in qualifying a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adults in North Dakota. With just a few weeks left until Election Day, they need our help. Today, MPP is endorsing their effort and urging allies to support Measure 3. Click here to read the full text of the measure.

There’s a real chance North Dakotans could approve Measure 3, which would end prohibition and create a process to seal criminal records for nonviolent marijuana convictions, but polling suggests the vote is going to be very close. Every dollar the campaign receives goes towards voter outreach and education. North Dakota has a small population, so your contribution could make all the difference.

Will you make a donation to support the grassroots campaign to legalize marijuana in North Dakota?

A victory for Measure 3 would be huge. It would show that adult-use legalization can win anywhere, even in more rural and conservative states. It would also send a strong message to Congress that federal laws on marijuana are deeply unpopular throughout the country.

2018 is shaping up to be a big year for our movement. There are four marijuana-related state ballot questions in play, and each of them needs your help. Click the logos below to check out the campaigns. Please follow them on social media, spread the word to voters in those states, and donate what you can.

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Yesterday, a staggering 64% of North Dakota voters approved Measure 5, a compassionate medical marijuana initiative.

Check out MPP’s summary of the measure.

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