North Dakota House Approves Cannabis Legalization Bill

North Dakota’s House of Representatives voted in favor of adult-use cannabis legalization yesterday, Marijuana Moment reports. The bill, HB 1420, would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older and calls for a regulated cannabis marketplace but would not allow for cannabis home grows.

The proposal was brought by Rep. Jason Dockter, a Republican who reportedly does not support legalization but who sees it as an inevitability and wants to handle the issue before voters do so themselves with a ballot initiative in 2022. In fact, several lawmakers who voted for the legislation, including House Majority Leader Chet Pollert (R) — who has said he’s not “a marijuana person” — shared that sentiment, particularly after neighboring South Dakota’s eye-opening vote in November in favor of legalization.

“There’s a lot of things I don’t agree with, but if it’s good policy and I think it’s going to be for the betterment of the State of North Dakota, I vote for it. And so I ask for a green vote.” — Rep. Dockter (R-Bismarck), via KX News

Ultimately, the legislation was passed in a 56 to 38 vote. In order to become law, the bill must next be approved by the Senate and then signed into law by Gov. Doug Burgum (R).

Lawmakers also advanced a separate bill that would make cannabis taxable with a 15 percent gross receipts tax on product sales and a 10 percent excise tax on sales from a manufacturer to a dispensary.