NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — As we get closer to the November election, we’re hearing more arguments both for and against the potential legalization of recreational marijuana in North Dakota.

Roger Kaseman said he’ll be voting ‘no.’ He has a different perspective than a lot of North Dakotans, working as a deputy sheriff as well as a deputy coroner in California.

Kaseman said he saw too many examples of the effects of marijuana on people, including five members of the same family whose deaths resulted from the use and abuse of marijuana. Kaseman believes that sort of thing could happen in North Dakota if Measure 5 is passed.

“I would guarantee that anybody who’s watching this that within a year after passing marijuana legalization and it becomes recreational, you’re going to have a relative, friend, or co-worker that’s going to be dead because of it. Not using it directly, although that’s a possibility, I’m talking about in a traffic accident, in an industrial accident,” Kaseman said.

Steve Bakken, however, said he’ll be voting ‘yes.’ He’s the Chairman of New Economic Frontier , a ballot measure committee working to get Measure 5 passed.

Bakken’s also the former mayor of Bismarck. In spite of his work getting this measure passed, he says he voted ‘no’ on the last two marijuana-related initiated measures. Bakken said he understands the concerns revolving around the issue, but he also said there’s a lot of misinformation going around, including concern about drug usage.

“It’s really not the Reefer Madness from the 50s that people think about. Cannabis is not the big concern; it’s the Fentanyl, the opioids. There’s a lot of other places that a very thin-stretched law enforcement can be utilized to actually make a bigger impact,” Bakken said.

For their part, New Economic Frontier “encourages all North Dakotan voters to research this important issue before casting their votes in November,” end quote.

Although Kaseman and Bakken will be voting on different sides of the ballot, both men said they are not marijuana users.

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