The high-profile U.S. Senate race between incumbent Heidi Heitkamp and Congressman Kevin Cramer is certainly getting the bulk of the attention in the state. Rightfully so. There is however another item on the 2018 ballot. One that could definitely shake up the status quo in this traditionally traditional state.
Recreational marijuana could be legalized. In North Dakota.
How did this happen?
North Dakota is an Initiative state. Measure 3, as it is officially known, was placed on the ballot courtesy of over 14,000 valid signatures on a petition. When you are an Initiative state, this can happen. And it did.
The success of the petition was quite a surprise to the typically staid and sturdy folk of the northerly of the two Dakotas. Visions of half-naked, unkempt Woodstock holdovers dancing in the amber waives of grain likely abounded in the heads of those who woke up one morning to find Measure 3 on the ballot. Indeed, the battle lines were drawn quickly.
While early polling showed support for Measure 3, state law enforcement agencies came out forcefully against it. As one might imagine, polling such a topic has proven elusively difficult.
And as one might imagine, local columnists are having a field day with the initiative. It’s hard not to lampoon The Music Man on this one. Not all of the typical political alignments are aligning either.
Will North Dakota join the other nine states in making recreational weed legal? Tune in on November 7th to find out. I’ll have the Doritos ready just in case