supporter's claims

CLAIMS OF MEASURE 5 SUPPORTERS

New Economic Frontier sponsored the initiative. The campaign said, "As seen in other states, legalizing adult-use cannabis can fuel economic development by creating new jobs, stimulating tourism, and generating tax revenue. By embracing this growing industry, we can unlock new sources of income, foster entrepreneurship, and build a more resilient and prosperous economy for North Dakota. ... Arresting adults for minor cannabis offenses drains law enforcement resources and burdens our judicial system. By legalizing cannabis, we can redirect these valuable resources toward addressing more pressing public safety concerns, ensuring our communities are safer and our officers can focus on serious crimes.

Rebuttal: the above claims are not true.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION CREATES MORE RATHER THAN LESS LAW ENFORCEMENT CHALLENGES FOR POLICE OFFICERS

Legalization creates new resource needs because officers must address crime and disorder issues 1 associated with the new law. “Driving under the influence” testing requires new training and policies. Determining the difference between legal amounts and uses of marijuana requires review and more training. Safety training must be increased because of “legal” but unsafe processing operations. Homeless shelters report an increase in out-of-state homeless youth, drawn by legal marijuana, who are creating other crime problems, according to media accounts.

see more data at:

https://www.policinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/PF_FiveThings_MarijuanaLegal_Handout_RGB.pdf

There was no reduction in crime or significant increase in tax revenues.

SEE MORE DATA AT:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6690273/