Nope on Dope

Once and for all, North Dakotans need to say “no” to recreational marijuana by defeating Measure 5 on November 5th. 

North Dakotans have already defeated this measure twice, in 2018 and 2022. It seems proponents are addicted to pushing marijuana! 

Don’t believe the hype: Recreational marijuana will harm our children, grow the black market, distract law enforcement, and not return revenue to the state treasury.  

IT WILL… harm our children

States that have legalized marijuana have experienced increases in: 

  • Use and abuse of marijuana 
  • Appeal for and use of marijuana by minors 
  • Use of marijuana in prohibited locations such as public venues, hotels, concerts, restaurants, schools, public transportation, and private motor vehicles 

IT WILL… grow the black market

Despite suggestions that the legalization of marijuana would curtail the black market for illicit marijuana, the opposite has occurred in states that have legalized marijuana. California, New York, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado were all “leaders” in the legalization of marijuana, and all have experienced a growth in black-market availability of marijuana. 

Government-regulated dispensaries with associated taxes and limits on potency and quantities cannot compete with the black market. Combine that with the more tolerant and accepting atmosphere created when a state legalizes marijuana, and it should be no surprise that the black market increases, rather than decreases, under legalization. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called New York’s experience with the proliferation of black-market marijuana following her state’s legalization a “disaster.”  

IT WILL… distract law enforcement

It is a fallacy that large percentages of law enforcement, court, and correctional resources are being wasted on enforcing low-level marijuana laws. Data suggests those who are arrested and imprisoned are seldom, if ever, just low-level marijuana users.  

  • In 2023 there were a total of 29,467 arrests for all crimes in North Dakota, according to state crime data records. Of those, just 3,967 were for all drug-related crimes, including distribution. Of all the drug-related seizures in the state, 47% were marijuana-related, equating to about 1,864 or just 6% of all arrests. 
  • In 2023 according to North Dakota Department of Corrections prison data, there were 1,899 adult inmates in prison. Of that total, just 127 inmates in the entire state were in prison for drug possession of any amount or type. Given 47% of the state drug seizures in 2023 involved marijuana, 47% of the 127 drug possession inmates, at most, were in prison for marijuana-related crimes. That would equate to just 3.1% of inmates, at most, being imprisoned for marijuana possession — most likely possession of significant amounts, which would remain illegal under the proposed legislation. 

This is the reality found in Minnesota and other states as well, where a very small number of the state’s prison inmates are there for marijuana offenses, and those that are involve large quantities that would remain illegal under the proposed measure. 

Arguably, the most effective manner to deal with this issue is to maintain official prohibitions against the possession and use of marijuana, while continuing to prioritize enforcement of prohibitions against those producing or distributing large quantities of marijuana. 

IT WILL NOT… boost the economy

One of the primary arguments for legalizing marijuana has been the purported economic “boon” that states would experience. The reality is that while some revenue is generated, it is offset in no small manner by the bureaucratic regulatory process created to manage the issue, and the societal costs of increased marijuana use, manifesting as increases in mental health/chemical dependency issues and accidents and injuries as a result of impaired driving. 

The Milken Institute Review summarized the fallacy below: 

“The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that adding legal and illegal marijuana to the national income accounts would raise officially measured GDP by 0.2 percent, or around $40 billion in 2019. This is a large number in absolute terms, but small in the context of a $23 trillion economy. Thus, claims of huge economic benefits from legalization, such as increased employment, are likely overstated. And some of any measured increase — perhaps a lot of it — will reflect economic activity that was already occurring in the underground sector. 

There is no plausible scenario in which marijuana taxes will ever make a big contribution. Nor, we believe, should governments try to get much more milk from this cow: higher taxes could well backfire by shifting sales back to the underground market.” 

Look no further than Minnesota for examples of the claims and realities of the economic impact of legalizing marijuana. Minnesota legalized recreational adult-use marijuana in 2023, and there have been wildly differing estimates and realities of the economic impact legalization will have on the state so far.  

In 2023 the Minnesota Department of Revenue estimated gross tax receipts would be $42 million in 2024/25, and $120 million in 2026/27. As of June 2024, those estimates have been adjusted to $24 million in 2024/25, and $109 million in 2026/27, a downward adjustment of nearly $30 million in just a year. 

In 2023 the Cannabis Management Office budget was set by the Legislature. This budget predicted that there would be a net cost, after adjusting for estimated revenue, of $30 million to run the office in 2024/25. The estimated net cost jumps to over $56 million in 2026/27. While the Cannabis Management Office represents the single biggest cost related to cannabis legalization, it does not include all the other increased state costs such as increases to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, State Patrol, and Department of Health budgets to cover enhanced duties to these departments as they ensure the proper management of the cannabis legalization effort. 

As proposed the North Dakota measure only predicts a modest net revenue of $1.9 million between 2025-2027, while also acknowledging “an undetermined amount of additional costs associated with behavioral health and social impacts…” The modest revenue prediction can and likely will disappear if things go as they have for other states. Considering the estimated boon to other state economies has been grossly overestimated in many cases, North Dakotans should be wary of claims that North Dakota will reap economic benefits from the legalization of marijuana. 

LEAVE THE MARIJUANA BUSINESS TO MINNESOTA!

States that have legalized marijuana have often realized that use, abuse, and injuries increased after legalization. Promises of an economic boon and a reduction in black-market sales have been misleading at best, and the social costs of legalization are just not understood well enough yet. Some states and countries now have active efforts under way to undo or at least roll back parts of the related laws because of the negative health, legal and odor effects associated with them. 

  • Oregon rolled back a 2020 initiative and recriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs, ending a first-in-the-nation experiment with decriminalization.  
  • Majority Republicans in Ohio are considering rolling back some or all of their marijuana statutes. 
  • Thailand is likely to reverse course this year on its short-lived experiment with marijuana legalization.  

North Dakotans have wisely exhibited a reluctance towards legalizing marijuana. They should remain resolute again in 2024, while they continue to observe the self-inflicted pain other states are enduring, after legalizing marijuana.

Vote Nope on Dope! 

CLICK HERE to learn more about the marijuana issue from a 30-year veteran of law enforcement.

CLICK HERE to read a full summary of the ballot measure.

CLICK HERE to find out where and how to vote on or before Election Day 2024 (November 5).

Paid for by American Experiment North Dakota.