A group hoping to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota can begin circulating petitions.
Secretary of State Al Jaeger has approved the format of the petition to place the issue on the November ballot. The sponsoring committee needs to gather 15,582 signatures by July 11th.
The campaign plans to hire full and part-time petition circulators to help in collecting signatures. Campaign Treasurer Mark Friese says he doesn’t view that as a negative. “This is a heavy lift. Anyone proposing a ballot measure is going to hire lawyers…consultants… media relations people. We hire lobbyists all the time to advance interest in whatever may come before lawmakers.”
Friese says anyone hired to collect signatures will be adequately trained. “Unlike other efforts where they had difficulty in compliance we are going to require a comprehensive training requirement.”
The proposal would allow adults over 21 to possess limited amounts of “pot” and purchase products from registered establishments in the state.
