Why Are North Dakotans Still Being Arrested For Possessing Marijuana?

In 2021, there is so much gray area surrounding marijuana. In fact, DISA Global Solutions has the United States broken up into five categories for Americans to know just "how legal" marijuana is in each state. Each state fits one of these categories:

• Legalized
• Medical and Decriminalized
• Medical
• Decriminalized
• Fully Illegal

North Dakota falls under the "Medical and Decriminalized" category. This means that people who have a medical card can possess up to three ounces of flower. And, while it is not legal to have/ use marijuana recreationally in North Dakota, it is decriminalized up to half an ounce. But doing things like having large amounts and selling it can get felonious.

See? Gray Area. Well, a North Dakota man is waiting for charges for a few marijuana plants in his apartment. Depending on the number of plants and amount of paraphernalia, he could see some jail time and fines.

According to Valley News Live, 32-year-old Valley City Man, Sean Krall, "was arrested for possession with intent to manufacture and deliver" marijuana. After a tip-off to police, Krall's home was raided and several pot plants were seized. As of the time of this post, there was no information on Krall's charges.

How is it that the United States is so disconnected when it comes to marijuana? This is a plant that heals people's many ailments. Yet, for some reason, it is federally considered to be more dangerous than prescription drugs like fentanyl and even alcohol. This is insane because according to the CDC:

• "In 2019, 70,630 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States."
• "Excessive alcohol use is responsible for more than 95,000 deaths in the United States each year, or 261 deaths per day."
• "In 2016, around 24 million Americans aged 12 or older, or 9% percent of the population, were current users of marijuana."

The CDC does not indicate that marijuana is a killer or even dangerous. There is no hardcore evidence in support or opposition to the plant, and the information is vague. So, WHY are we still in an uphill battle over this? And why are nonviolent offenders still paying the price for a plant?