Now that election season is upon us, lawmakers and voters are particularly riled up about medical marijuana in key states such as New York, California, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Now, a measure proposed in Fargo could make North Dakota the 18th state to approve medical marijuana use. The 22-page proposed law would require a doctor’s permission for marijuana use and they can only get the medicine from a state-approved dispensary.

The measure comes just a couple of weeks following Connecticut’s adoption of a similar law. Whereas we can hope that Connecticut’s decision may affect Massachusetts and New York, it is unclear what will follow North Dakota’s vote. In fact, North Dakota’s level of support is relatively unknown. Its neighbor Montana already allows medical marijuana use, but South Dakota has rejected laws twice in the past six years.

According to Medical Marijuana Business Daily, in order for the law to pass:

“the secretary of state must first give organizers the green light to begin gathering signatures. Supporters will then need to get enough people to sign the petition to qualify it for the November ballot, and then voters would have to approve the initiative for it to become law. In other words, there’s a long way to go. But it’s an encouraging sign nonetheless, as it furthers the MMJ debate.”

If North Dakota passes the proposition, the country will be only 8 states shy of a majority of states which have passed medical marijuana legislation.  Watch our blog for up-to-date news following the medical marijuana debate across the country.