Drug Policy Watch · State Brief 2026

North Dakota

Snapshot (structured)

Adult-use cannabis: Illegal. Voters rejected adult-use legalization three times (2018, 2022, and 2024 as Measure 5, which failed roughly 53 to 47 percent). Ballotpedia, North Dakota Monitor
Medical cannabis: Legal since 2016; program run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Expanded in 2025 to add low-dose edibles. MPP, North Dakota Monitor
Home grow: Not permitted, for either medical patients or the general public. NorthDakotaCannabis.org
Intoxicating hemp / hemp THC: Banned. The state excludes delta-8 and chemically converted or "artificially derived" cannabinoids from its hemp definition. Marijuana Herald, Cannabis Regulations AI
Psychedelics: Illegal; no decriminalization or therapeutic-access law. No North Dakota-specific 2025 or 2026 bill confirmed. Psychedelic Alpha
Broad decriminalization: Partial. Simple possession of under half an ounce is a noncriminal infraction (up to $1,000 fine), but a 2025 bill to soften it to a $150 citation failed. NORML, Marijuana Moment
Harm reduction: Mixed. Syringe services programs are authorized and may distribute supplies including test strips, but North Dakota is one of only a few states that still broadly restrict fentanyl test strips. Naloxone is distributed via opioid settlement funds. Network for Public Health Law, Governing
Governor (party): Kelly Armstrong (Republican), took office December 15, 2024. Ballotpedia
Legislature control: Republican supermajority in both chambers (Senate roughly 42 to 5; House roughly 83 to 11). Wikipedia, ND Senate, Wikipedia, ND House
Citizen ballot initiatives allowed: Yes. North Dakota permits citizen-initiated statutes and constitutional amendments. North Dakota Secretary of State
Enclosure pressure score: 4/5

Cannabis

Adult-use cannabis is illegal in North Dakota. Voters have rejected recreational legalization three times: in 2018, in 2022, and most recently in November 2024 as Initiated Measure 5, which failed with about 52.55 percent against and 47.45 percent in favor. Measure 5 was sponsored by the New Economic Frontier committee and would have allowed adults 21 and older to possess and purchase up to an ounce, with a household home-grow allowance of up to six plants. Ballotpedia, North Dakota Monitor

Medical cannabis has been legal since voters approved it in 2016, and the program is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. The market is tightly capped: state rules allow only two manufacturing and processing facilities and up to eight retail dispensaries (compassionate care centers) for the entire state, and the department has not been accepting new dispensary applications. All medical cannabis products are grown and processed in North Dakota. The cap, the high entry costs, and the closed application window concentrate the medical market among a small number of incumbent operators. NorthDakotaCannabis.org, business, NorthDakotaCannabis.org, program

Home grow is not permitted for medical patients or anyone else. NorthDakotaCannabis.org

Key 2025 actions (the most recent regular session; see calendar note): the Legislature expanded the medical program. House Bill 1203 authorized low-dose THC edibles, limited to hard or soft square lozenges with no more than 5 mg THC per serving and no more than 50 mg per package. Senate Bill 2293 set a 1 gram maximum container size for THC concentrate and let people who cannot obtain a state ID due to a medical condition use other documentation to qualify. Senate Bill 2294 addressed allowable usable amounts, recordkeeping, edible products, and patient qualifications, and lengthened card terms from one year to two years. North Dakota Monitor, Marijuana Moment

There is no state cannabis excise tax structure because there is no adult-use market; the small medical market does not carry the retail excise taxes seen in legal states. Specific medical sales-tax treatment is unconfirmed in available 2025-2026 sources.

Hemp

North Dakota bans intoxicating, hemp-derived cannabinoids. The state has progressively narrowed its hemp definition: it excludes delta-8 THC and prohibits chemically modified or converted cannabinoids derived from hemp, which captures delta-8, delta-10, THC-O, HHC, and similar products. Reporting through November 2025 lists North Dakota among the states that prohibit hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids. Marijuana Herald, Cannabis Regulations AI, THCA, Cannabis Regulations AI, delta-9

Federal exposure: On November 12, 2026, Section 781 of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-37) takes effect, shifting the federal hemp definition from a delta-9-only 0.3 percent standard to a total-THC standard that includes THCA, and capping finished consumable hemp products at 0.4 mg total THC per container. Industry analysts estimate this will render the large majority of current hemp-derived THC products federally noncompliant. Because North Dakota already bans intoxicating hemp products, the practical in-state disruption from the federal change is smaller than in permissive states; the state has effectively pre-closed this loophole. The federal change could still affect interstate transport and any remaining noncompliant inventory. A delay bill (referred to as the Hemp Planting Predictability Act) and a federal regulatory framework bill (the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act from Senators Wyden and Merkley) had not advanced as of mid-2026; these federal bill descriptions are summarized from secondary sources and should be treated as unconfirmed pending primary text. Vicente LLP, Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, Harris Sliwoski

Psychedelics

North Dakota has no psilocybin or broader psychedelic decriminalization, and no therapeutic-access framework. Psilocybin and similar substances remain illegal. National trackers covering 2025 legislative activity list many states with psychedelic bills, but do not list North Dakota among them; no North Dakota-specific 2025 or 2026 psychedelic bill is confirmed. Because North Dakota holds regular sessions only in odd years, no new psychedelic legislation is expected to move until the 2027 session. Psychedelic Alpha, Recovered.org

Broader drug policy

Decriminalization: Possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana is a noncriminal infraction punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 on a first offense; a subsequent offense within the same calendar year can carry up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine. Possession of more than half an ounce up to 500 grams is a misdemeanor (up to 30 days and up to $1,500). NORML, ND penalties

A 2025 effort to deepen decriminalization failed. House Bill 1596 would have downgraded simple possession of under half an ounce from a criminal infraction to a noncriminal citation of about $150, comparable to a speeding ticket. It passed the House but was rejected by the Senate on a 33 to 13 vote on April 9, 2025. Marijuana Moment, House passage, NORML, Senate rejection

Harm reduction: Syringe services programs are authorized by statute and the supplies they distribute, which can include test strips, are exempted from the drug paraphernalia definition for program participants. However, North Dakota is repeatedly listed among the small number of jurisdictions that still broadly restrict fentanyl test strips, creating a gap between what syringe programs may distribute and what is broadly legal. Naloxone and other supplies (syringes, sharps containers, safer-use and safer-sex kits, fentanyl and xylazine test strips) are funded through opioid settlement spending plans at the local public health level. Network for Public Health Law, Governing, ND HHS opioid settlement, Lake Region

Sentencing and expungement: No marijuana-specific automatic expungement or record-sealing program is confirmed in available 2025-2026 sources. North Dakota has a general criminal record sealing statute, but its application to cannabis offenses is unconfirmed here.

Overdose and treatment policy: The state is directing opioid settlement funds toward harm reduction and treatment supplies through district health units. ND HHS opioid settlement

Political landscape

Governor: Kelly Armstrong (Republican), in office since December 15, 2024. Ballotpedia

Party control: Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers (Senate approximately 42 Republicans to 5 Democratic-NPL; House approximately 83 to 11). Wikipedia, ND Senate, Wikipedia, ND House

In 2026 there has been notable Republican intraparty friction, with lawmakers and candidates accusing Governor Armstrong of trying to influence the Legislature through campaign donations to favored candidates ahead of the June primaries. This is general political context, not cannabis-specific. North Dakota Monitor

Reform champions: Rep. Liz Conmy (Democratic-NPL) led the 2025 decriminalization bill HB 1596, with a roster of co-sponsors listed on LegiScan. Named opponents and the specific legislators who drove the Senate's rejection are unconfirmed in available sources beyond the recorded 33 to 13 vote. LegiScan HB1596, Marijuana Moment

Key committees: drug-policy bills typically route through the House and Senate Judiciary committees and, for the medical program, Human Services committees. Specific committee chairs for the 2025-2027 assembly are unconfirmed here.

Ballot initiatives

North Dakota allows citizen-initiated statutory measures and constitutional amendments. Adult-use legalization has been put to voters three times by initiative and failed each time: 2018, 2022, and 2024 (Measure 5, roughly 53 to 47 against). Measure 5 was sponsored by the New Economic Frontier committee, with Steve Bakken among its public figures. Ballotpedia, North Dakota Monitor

For 2026, available reporting does not confirm any qualified adult-use cannabis ballot measure. Coverage of a possible future campaign points toward 2027 or a later cycle rather than 2026. Treat any specific 2026 measure as unconfirmed. Cannabis Business Times

Equity and expungement

North Dakota has no adult-use market and therefore no social-equity licensing program. The medical program is small, capped, and does not include equity carve-outs in available sources. No marijuana-specific automatic expungement or sealing program is confirmed; a general record-sealing statute exists but its application to cannabis offenses is unconfirmed here. In effect, the people fenced out are would-be small operators (no new dispensary or processing licenses available) and individuals with prior possession records who lack a dedicated relief pathway. NorthDakotaCannabis.org, business

Market and barriers

License caps: up to 8 retail dispensaries and 2 manufacturing/processing facilities statewide; the department has not been taking new dispensary applications. NorthDakotaCannabis.org, business
Entry costs (medical dispensary): reported non-refundable application fee of about $5,000 and a licensing fee of about $90,000. NorthDakotaCannabis.org, business
Adult-use tax rate: not applicable (no legal adult-use market).
Capital and residency requirements: specific capital minimums and residency rules are unconfirmed in available 2025-2026 sources.
Approximate licensees: roughly 8 dispensaries and 2 processors at the program cap; exact active counts are unconfirmed here. NorthDakotaCannabis.org, program

Enclosure read

North Dakota is heavily fenced. There is no legal adult-use market, three voter attempts at legalization have failed, home grow is banned for everyone including patients, and intoxicating hemp products are prohibited, which forecloses the gray-market path that small sellers use elsewhere. The one legal market, medical cannabis, is hard-capped at eight dispensaries and two processors with the application window closed and steep entry fees, which locks in a small set of incumbent operators and shuts out new and small entrants. Harm reduction is partial: syringe programs exist, but broad fentanyl test strip restrictions limit grassroots overdose-prevention efforts. The clearest beneficiaries of the status quo are the handful of existing medical licensees and the prohibitionist political coalition; the clearest losers are patients wanting home cultivation, would-be small businesses, hemp retailers, and people carrying possession records with no dedicated expungement track. The score is 4 rather than 5 because medical access does exist and modestly expanded in 2025, possession of small amounts is a noncriminal infraction rather than a crime, and citizen initiatives remain a live (if repeatedly unsuccessful) release valve.

Enclosure pressure score: 4/5

What to watch next

Federal hemp deadline: November 12, 2026, when the new total-THC federal hemp standard takes effect; watch for any North Dakota guidance and for federal delay or framework legislation. Vicente LLP
Next regular legislative session: January 2027 (70th Legislative Assembly), the next realistic window for cannabis, hemp, psychedelic, or decriminalization bills given the biennial calendar. ndlegis 70th Assembly
2026 elections: all statewide legislative elections on November 3, 2026 (24 of 47 Senate seats and 46 of 94 House seats), which will shape the 2027 session. Wikipedia, 2026 ND Senate election
Ballot watch: monitor for any renewed adult-use initiative aimed at a future cycle (2026 not confirmed; 2027 or later more likely). Cannabis Business Times

Regulators

Cannabis (medical): North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Medical Marijuana Division. Program director identified in 2025 reporting as Jason Wahl. North Dakota Monitor
Hemp: North Dakota Department of Agriculture administers the state hemp program; the intoxicating-cannabinoid prohibitions sit in the Century Code. Cannabis Regulations AI, THCA
Harm reduction and overdose: North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Behavioral Health, including opioid settlement administration. ND HHS opioid settlement
Elections and ballot initiatives: North Dakota Secretary of State. ND Secretary of State

Federal exposure (2026)

The 2026 federal posture is medicalize and control, and it reaches North Dakota unevenly because the state is medical only with a hard cap and no adult-use market.

Rescheduling and 280E: In April 2026 a DOJ and DEA order moved only FDA-approved cannabis drugs and state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III, while recreational cannabis stays Schedule I. That action ends the Internal Revenue Code Section 280E penalty for the medical category only. For North Dakota this is the single most consequential federal change. The state runs a medical-only program, so its roughly eight licensed dispensaries (compassionate care centers) and two processors fall inside the medical category that gains 280E relief, meaning they can begin deducting ordinary business expenses against federal taxable income. The benefit accrues to a tiny, already-incumbent set of operators, because the application window is closed and there is no adult-use tier to bring new entrants in. Schedule III does not legalize cannabis, does not authorize interstate commerce, and does not cover state-licensed businesses as a class beyond the tax treatment; North Dakota's all-in-state grow-and-process requirement is unaffected. A broader DEA rescheduling hearing opened June 29, 2026 and may slip to 2027. North Dakota Monitor, NorthDakotaCannabis.org, business

Hemp cliff (November 12, 2026): FY2026 agriculture appropriations, Section 781 (offered by Rep. Andy Harris, R-MD), narrowed the federal hemp definition to a total-THC standard of roughly 0.4 mg THC per container, which recriminalizes about 90 to 95 percent of intoxicating hemp products effective November 12, 2026. A standalone delay (H.R. 7010, unconfirmed bill number, link Congress.gov search) was not enacted, and the 2026 Farm Bill (H.R. 7567, unconfirmed bill number, link Congress.gov search) keeps the ban. North Dakota already prohibits intoxicating hemp and excludes delta-8 and artificially derived cannabinoids from its hemp definition, so the federal change reinforces existing state law rather than disrupting a permissive market. Practical effect: minimal in-state retail disruption because the gray-market channel was already closed; the live exposure is on interstate transport, any remaining noncompliant inventory, and North Dakota hemp growers and processors who must conform to the tighter total-THC compliance and testing regime. Vicente LLP, Marijuana Herald

Banking: SAFER Banking has stalled in Congress, so North Dakota's medical operators remain cut off from normal banking, card processing, and lending. This compounds the state's high entry costs (about $5,000 application and about $90,000 licensing fees) and further entrenches the small incumbent group, since undercapitalized or new entrants cannot easily access financial services. NorthDakotaCannabis.org, business

Psychedelics: North Dakota has no state psilocybin, MDMA, or ibogaine access law, so the only route is federal. Psilocybin, MDMA, and ibogaine remain Schedule I. An April 18, 2026 executive order, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/accelerating-medical-treatments-for-serious-mental-illness/] plus FDA priority review vouchers are fast-tracking FDA review, but there is no approval yet. Any eventual access in North Dakota would therefore come through the federal FDA pathway, not state legislation, especially given the biennial calendar with no 2026 session. Psychedelic Alpha

Fentanyl: The HALT Fentanyl Act (July 17, 2025) permanently placed fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I, aligning with North Dakota's enforcement-forward posture and offering no new state lever.

Harm reduction: SAMHSA guidance issued April 24, 2026 bars federal funds from paying for fentanyl test strips, clean syringes, and sterile water, while naloxone remains federally supported. This is acute for North Dakota, which is already among the few states that broadly restrict fentanyl test strips. The federal cut narrows funding for exactly the supplies the state restricts most, leaving naloxone (distributed through opioid settlement funds) as the main supported tool and pushing test strips, syringes, and sterile water onto state or local opioid-settlement dollars rather than federal grants. Network for Public Health Law, ND HHS opioid settlement, Lake Region

Patient access and rights

This section covers what North Dakota law does and does not protect for a medical cannabis patient: use inside a hospital, and the broader rights that follow a patient into work, housing, parenting, an organ transplant list, and school. It is information, not legal advice, and it reflects the law as of July 2026.

Hospital access (Ryan's Law): North Dakota has no hospital-access law. No statute requires a hospital, nursing home, or hospice to let a qualifying patient use medical cannabis on site, so whether a facility allows it is left to that facility's own policy, and many refuse. Seven states have now enacted a Ryan's Law protection (California in 2021, and Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington in 2026), and Pennsylvania has a bill pending; North Dakota is not among them. The absence is the finding: a North Dakota patient has no enforceable right to use their medicine in a hospital today.

Broader protections: North Dakota has a medical cannabis program (with a nonresident card available), and adult-use remains illegal after voters rejected it three times, most recently in November 2024. A review of the medical law (N.D. Cent. Code 19-24.1) found none of the six patient protections: it preserves an employer's right to discipline (19-24.1-34(2)) and provides nothing for housing, parenting, an organ transplant list, school enrollment, or general medical care. The absence is the finding.

Out-of-state patients: North Dakota requires a nonresident card; a visiting patient must register with the state to be recognized.

The federal picture: the April 2026 federal move of state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III did not change any of this. Schedule III does not make dispensary cannabis a lawful prescription medicine and does not create any hospital-use right; only state law can force hospital access, and North Dakota has not enacted a Ryan's Law. The absence of the broader protections above is a feature of North Dakota law, not something federal rescheduling addresses.

Sources: North Dakota medical cannabis law, N.D. Cent. Code Chapter 19-24.1.

Analysis: the enclosure read in depth

North Dakota is one of the more tightly fenced states in the country, and the 2026 federal posture mostly tightens the fence rather than opening it.

Who is fenced out in-state: Voters themselves are the first group fenced out, having rejected adult-use three times (2018, 2022, and 2024's Measure 5, which failed roughly 53 to 47), so there is no legal recreational tier and no would-be recreational businesses. Patients are fenced out of cultivation because home grow is banned for everyone, medical or not, which means there is no self-supply path. Small operators and new entrants are fenced out of the only legal market: medical cannabis is hard-capped at eight dispensaries and two processors, the application window is closed, and entry costs run to roughly $5,000 plus about $90,000. Harm-reduction workers are partially fenced out by broad fentanyl test strip restrictions. People with prior possession records are fenced out of relief because there is no marijuana-specific expungement track (a general sealing statute exists but its cannabis application is unconfirmed). The biennial legislature compounds all of this: with no regular 2026 session and the next one not until January 2027, even incremental reform is calendar-locked, and the January 2026 special session focused on Rural Health Transformation funding, not drug policy.

State-plus-federal interaction: The federal levers land asymmetrically. The 280E repeal for medical cannabis is a real but narrow gift that flows entirely to the eight incumbent dispensaries and two processors, sharpening the advantage of the closed-cap club without admitting anyone new. The November 12, 2026 hemp cliff is largely redundant with state law, so it changes little for in-state retail but adds compliance burden for the state's hemp growers and reinforces prohibition of the gray-market channel small sellers exploit elsewhere. Stalled SAFER Banking keeps capital scarce and favors incumbents. The SAMHSA harm-reduction cuts bite a state that already restricts test strips, worsening the on-the-ground gap. Net effect: federal enclosure favors large, established medical incumbents and fences out small actors, hemp sellers, and grassroots harm reduction, which is exactly the pattern the federal posture produces nationally, layered on top of an already-restrictive state.

What to watch: the citizen initiative as the only realistic release valve (discussed below); the January 2027 regular session as the first legislative window for any cannabis, hemp, psychedelic, decriminalization, or harm-reduction movement; the November 3, 2026 legislative elections, which seat the 2027 assembly; whether the DEA hearing that opened June 29, 2026 produces anything broader than the medical-only Schedule III move; and whether opioid-settlement dollars backfill the federal harm-reduction cuts.

Commons counter-move: The still-available citizen initiative is the one mechanism that can route around a prohibitionist supermajority and a closed legislative calendar. North Dakota permits both initiated statutes and initiated constitutional amendments, and an initiative is the only path that could open adult-use, restore home grow, create a small-operator or social-equity tier, or remove the fentanyl test strip restriction without waiting on the Legislature. The track record is discouraging (three losses), but it remains a live, voter-controlled commons counter-move; current reporting points to a possible 2027 or later campaign rather than a confirmed 2026 measure.

Justification for the score: The enclosure score is 4 of 5, not 5. It is high because there is no adult-use market, home grow is banned for all, intoxicating hemp is prohibited, the medical market is capped and closed to new entrants, harm reduction is constrained, and the biennial calendar blocks near-term legislative reform, all reinforced rather than relieved by the 2026 federal posture. It is not a 5 because genuine release valves remain: a functioning (if small) medical program that modestly expanded in 2025, small-quantity possession treated as a noncriminal infraction rather than a crime, the new medical-only 280E relief, and a live citizen-initiative process. Those open seams keep North Dakota just short of total enclosure.

Active legislation (2026)

North Dakota has a biennial legislature that meets in regular session only in odd-numbered years. There is no regular 2026 session. A special session was held January 21 to 23, 2026, called by Governor Armstrong primarily to act on Rural Health Transformation Program funding; no significant drug-policy bills are associated with it in available reporting. The bills below are from the 2025 regular session (69th Legislative Assembly), which carries the 2025-2026 designation, and reflect the most recent legislative action. The next regular session convenes in January 2027.

Bill	Title/Topic	Chamber	Status	Sponsor(s)
HB 1203	Adds low-dose THC edibles (square lozenges, max 5 mg/serving, 50 mg/package) to medical program	Originated House	Passed and signed into law (2025)	Unconfirmed; link ndlegis HB1203
SB 2293	Caps THC concentrate container at 1 gram; alternative ID documentation for patients	Originated Senate	Passed (2025)	Unconfirmed; link North Dakota Monitor
SB 2294	Usable amounts, recordkeeping, edible products, patient qualifications; card term extended to two years	Originated Senate	Passed (2025)	Unconfirmed; link LegiScan SB2294
HB 1596	Would have downgraded simple possession (under half oz) to a noncriminal $150 citation	Originated House	Passed House; rejected by Senate 33 to 13 on April 9, 2025 (failed)	Lead sponsor Rep. Liz Conmy (D); co-sponsors per LegiScan include Sens. Boschee and Braunberger and Reps. Dobervich, Foss, Heinert, Hendrix, Murphy, M. Ruby, Vetter; link LegiScan HB1596

This list is not exhaustive. For the full set of bills and live status, see the North Dakota Legislative Branch, LegiScan North Dakota, and Marijuana Moment.

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A planning snapshot for 2026, not legal advice. Policy moves quickly; confirm any single detail against the cited sources before acting on it. Sponsor names are given where confirmable and marked unconfirmed otherwise.

About the author. Jessica Mantonya is the founder of Drug Policy Watch and Hold in Common. She also advises operators, advocates, and funders on regulatory strategy and anti-enclosure positioning. Work with her →