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Internal poll shows support for recreational marijuana

Organizers of a campaign for legalizing recreational marijuana in North Dakota say an internal poll shows support of their effort.

Cole Haymond is an advisor with LegalizeND. He says voters surveyed in their poll approved of their measure to legalize recreational marijuana 46 percent to 39 percent, with 15 percent of those voters undecided. He says many of those voters report frustration with the state's medical marijuana law passed in 2016 taking a long time to be implemented. He says the campaign has most of the signatures they need to put the issue in front of North Dakota voters in November.

"On the petition it has to be clearly stated - you know, name and address, everything verified by the secretary of state, and sometimes someone puts just their first name or doesn't put their zip code or apartment number. There will be some invalid signatures. So what we're trying to do across the state, which is purely a volunteer effort, is secure what we need. We're very encouraged. On July 9, our sponsors as well as the chair of the campaign intends to go to Bismarck to submit all the signatures, and we are confident we will make the ballot."

Haymond says the campaign also carries a large education component which educates the public about expungement. He says the law will contain a provision that will seal and expunge possession charges 30 days after the law goes into effect.