Nine states have marijuana measures on the ballot this November. Here’s a look at the ballots in Montana and North Dakota and what the props mean to you.
Montana
Montana voters will see I-82 on their ballots, the latest step in a long fight over medical marijuana in Montana. While medical marijuana is legal in Montana, I-82 will ask voters whether or not the current three-patient limit on dispensaries, as well as a few other restrictions on the law, should be repealed.
In 2004, Montana legalized medical marijuana via a ballot measure. But in 2011, the Montana legislature passed a bill that limited dispensaries to three patients each, as well as limiting advertisements and requiring a state review of doctors who prescribed medical marijuana to more than 25 patients in a year. There was a long court battle over the new legislation, and it finally went into effect in August. I-82 would roll back that legislation and open up dispensaries to more than three patients, change the restrictions on doctors, and expand who qualifies to be prescribed medical marijuana.
Given recent polling, it looks very unlikely that a majority of voters in Montana will vote in favor of I-82. For more information on the state of marijuana legalization in Montana, click here.
North Dakota
North Dakota voters will vote on Initiated Statutory Measure 5. A “yes” vote on the measure would support legalizing marijuana for designated debilitating medical conditions. North Dakota has also tried to put medical marijuana on the ballot before, but failed in 2012 when some of the required signatures were determined to be illegitimate.
Under North Dakota’s medical marijuana law, conditions that would qualify include cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, among others. Patients would also be able to petition for more conditions to be added to the list. Initiated Statutory Measure 5 would also set up certain mechanisms for the regulation of medical marijuana in the state.
Unfortunately, there does not appear to have been polling on Measure 5 in North Dakota, so it’s difficult to tell how this vote will go. But polls from 2014 do indicate that voters were in favor of medical marijuana by a slight margin. For more information on the state of marijuana legalization in North Dakota, click here.
The Fresh Toast welcomes Law Street Media as our content partner. Launched in 2013 by an award-winning journalist and team of young entrepreneurs, Law Street is written by and for millennials. They go beyond the headlines and dig deep into issues to explain their relevance to our generation.
