Landlord ban authority, possession and home-grow limits, medical patient housing rules, and federal Section 8 restrictions in North Dakota.
North Dakota is a medical-only cannabis state. Voters rejected adult-use legalization for a third time in November 2024, defeating Initiated Measure 5 by a 52.55% to 47.45% margin, so there is no legal recreational market. The state's medical program runs under NDCC Chapter 19-24.1, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.
For landlords the practical picture is straightforward, and it favors you. State law does not force you to accommodate marijuana on your property, patients cannot legally grow at home, and any unit tied to federal money answers to a federal ban that overrides the state card entirely. This page lays out where your authority is solid and where the federal conflict actually bites.
North Dakota is classified as Medical Cannabis Only (effective 2016). The governing statute is N.D. Cent. Code § 19-24.1 (Measure 5, 2016).
No home cultivation. Smokable flower available since 2019. Landlord may ban any use.
Only registered medical patients may legally possess and use marijuana in North Dakota, and only product bought from a state-licensed dispensary. There is no legal recreational use. The original 2016 ballot measure allowed limited patient cultivation for those living far from a dispensary, but the legislature stripped that out with SB 2344 in 2017 before the program opened. The result: home cultivation is prohibited for everyone, patients included.
North Dakota did decriminalize small amounts. Possession of less than 14 grams (about half an ounce) by someone 21 or older is an infraction carrying a maximum $1,000 fine and no jail. That is a penalty reduction, not permission - it does not create any right to use in a rental, and larger amounts or possession without a valid card remain criminal under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, NDCC Chapter 19-03.1.
North Dakota's medical statute is explicit that it creates no burden on property owners. NDCC 19-24.1-34 provides that nothing in the chapter requires a person or establishment in lawful possession of property to allow a guest, client, customer, or other visitor to possess or consume usable marijuana. In plain terms, a medical card obligates the state to let a patient buy and use cannabis - it does not obligate you to let them do it in your building.
Because cultivation is already illegal statewide, a grow operation in your unit is not a lease question, it is a criminal-law question you can act on directly. Smoking is where a clean lease clause earns its keep: you may prohibit smoking of any substance, cannabis included, throughout the property. North Dakota imposes no rule forcing you to permit or forbid smoking - the Smoke-Free Air law covers enclosed public places and workplaces, not the private policy of your rental. Set the policy yourself and put it in writing.
Given a medical-only, no-home-grow state, a defensible lease should do three things. First, adopt a no-smoking clause that names all combustible substances - tobacco, marijuana, and vaping - so there is no argument that a cannabis reference singles out patients. Second, include a general clause requiring compliance with all federal, state, and local law; since marijuana is still federally illegal and cultivation is illegal in North Dakota, this clause reaches conduct a smoking ban alone might miss. Third, prohibit growing, manufacturing, or processing any controlled substance on the premises.
You can accommodate the medical reality without surrendering control. Many North Dakota landlords permit non-combustible forms - edibles, tinctures, capsules - which a registered patient can lawfully use, while banning smoke and vapor that migrate between units and leave residue. That distinction keeps you out of a fair-housing dispute over a patient's underlying medical condition while still protecting the building.
The state card stops at the door of federally-assisted housing. Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and HUD treats that as controlling for any unit backed by federal money - public housing and Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers included. A North Dakota medical registration does not change this.
Under longstanding HUD guidance, public housing authorities must deny admission to applicants who currently use marijuana, and they may not admit new users, even card-holding medical patients. For tenants already housed, a PHA has discretion in how it enforces, but use is a lease violation on paper. If you operate voucher units or project-based Section 8, your lease and screening must follow the federal ban, not the state medical program. Conventional private rentals with no federal subsidy answer only to state law and your own lease.
Document your policy before a problem arises. A signed no-smoking addendum, a compliance-with-law clause, and a cultivation ban give you clean grounds to act. If you smell smoke or find a grow, follow North Dakota's standard eviction process - cure-or-quit for a lease breach, and treat an active cultivation operation as the criminal matter it is. Keep dated notes, photos, and any neighbor complaints.
Screen honestly and consistently. You may ask about smoking preferences and enforce a building-wide no-smoke rule, but avoid policies that target a tenant's disability or medical status rather than the conduct. If a tenant raises a disability-accommodation request tied to medical cannabis, handle it as a fair-housing question - you generally need not permit smoking or any federally illegal activity, but the safer path is to offer a reasonable non-combustible alternative and document the exchange.
Medical cannabis patients in North Dakota may be treated identically to recreational users by landlords. There is no state-law anti-discrimination requirement; the federal Schedule I framework controls. Some local jurisdictions may have ordinances providing limited protection, check the city or county where the rental unit is located.
The practical impact: a tenant holding a Housing Choice Voucher who tests positive for cannabis or self-discloses use during recertification can lose their voucher in North Dakota, regardless of any state cannabis legalization or medical card status. This is the single most common point of confusion for tenants in adult-use states.
City-level landlord risk profiles often track cannabis-related lease enforcement. View the eviction-risk and tenant-law profile for the largest North Dakota rental markets:
This overview reflects North Dakota law as of 2026, drawn from the Medical Marijuana chapter of the North Dakota Century Code (NDCC 19-24.1), the Uniform Controlled Substances Act (NDCC 19-03.1), the 2024 Initiated Measure 5 results, and federal HUD guidance on marijuana in assisted housing. It is general information for landlords, not legal advice. Cannabis law changes quickly - confirm current statute text and any HUD directives, and consult a North Dakota attorney before acting on a specific tenancy.
No. North Dakota is a medical-only state. Voters rejected adult-use legalization again in November 2024, defeating Initiated Measure 5 by 52.55% to 47.45%, following earlier failed attempts in 2018 and 2022. Only registered medical patients may legally possess cannabis, and only from a licensed dispensary.
Yes. NDCC 19-24.1-34 states that nothing in the medical marijuana chapter requires a property owner to allow marijuana possession or consumption on their property. There is no state law forcing landlords to permit smoking, so you may prohibit smoking of all substances by lease.
No. Home cultivation is prohibited. The legislature removed the limited-cultivation provision through SB 2344 in 2017, so all medical cannabis must be purchased from a state-licensed dispensary. A grow operation in a rental is a criminal-law violation, not just a lease issue.
Yes. Marijuana is a Schedule I substance under federal law, and HUD bars its use in federally-assisted housing regardless of state medical status. Public housing authorities must deny admission to current users, including card-holding patients. Your Section 8 lease and screening must follow the federal ban.
Possession of less than 14 grams by a person 21 or older is decriminalized to an infraction with a maximum $1,000 fine and no jail. Possession of 14 grams or more, or any possession without a valid patient card, remains criminal under NDCC Chapter 19-03.1.
Yes, and many North Dakota landlords do exactly that. A registered patient may lawfully use non-combustible forms like edibles, tinctures, and capsules. Permitting those while banning smoke and vapor addresses the migration and residue problems without singling out a patient's medical condition.
Federal authority: 21 U.S.C. § 812; HUD PIH 2014-21. State authority: N.D. Cent. Code § 19-24.1 (Measure 5, 2016). Last updated August 17, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice. Cannabis law is rapidly evolving and federal/state conflict creates significant compliance risk; consult a licensed North Dakota attorney before making a lease, screening, or eviction decision involving cannabis.
