North Dakota Laws and Programs

Types of Drugs Used in North Dakota

In 2006 the most common illicit drug use reported by North Dakota residents was marijuana: 7.38 percent reported using it in the past year and 4.37 percent in the past month. Nonmedical use of pain relievers in the past year was reported by 4.21 percent and cocaine use by 1.59 percent. Among high school students marijuana was also the most common illegal drug reported, with 30.1 percent reporting lifetime use (5.4 percent reporting use before age 13) and 14.8 percent current use. Inhalants were the second most common drug (11.1 percent lifetime use), followed by cocaine (6.2 percent lifetime use), ecstasy (4.4 percent lifetime use), and methamphetamine (4.1 percent lifetime use).

In 2007, 1,839 adults and 259 adults were arrested for possession of illegal drugs and 196 adults and 19 juveniles were arrested for sale or manufacturing. For both adults and juveniles the most common cause for arrest was marijuana (1,532 adult arrests and 244 juvenile arrests). In fiscal year (FY) 2007, 33.8 percent of federally sentenced defendants in North Dakota were guilty of a drug offense, with over 80 percent of those involving methamphetamine. The second most common drug was powder cocaine (12.7 percent) followed by marijuana (4.2 percent).

Laws

Possession of less than one ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor and first convictions can be removed from violators' records after two years if they break no other laws. Possession of more than one ounce and sale or cultivation of any amount of marijuana is a felony carrying a sentence of up to 20 years, with increased penalty for sale within 1,000 feet of a school.

Possession of heroin or cocaine is a Class C felony, unless it is within 1,000 feet of a school, when it is a Class B felony. Selling of heroin is a Class A felony, carrying a mandatory sentence of at least one year in prison. A second offense has a mandatory sentence of at least five years imprisonment, and a third offense 20 years in prison.

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