Bismarck – The goal of decriminalizing marijuana in North Dakota took a step forward today.

After nearly 90 minutes of discussion, the house judiciary committee sent House Bill 11-55 to the floor with a “Do Pass” recommendation.

The bill would make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a non-criminal offense with a fee of 200 dollars.

Possessing more than one ounce, but less than a pound would be a class B misdemeanor.

The committee also rejected several amendments to the bill recommended by the state attorney generals office.

We talked with the bill’s sponsor about today’s vote.

“The amendments that we’re proposed would have really changed the entire purpose of the it would no longer be a decriminalization bill it would be just a lower level criminal charge, so it was nice to have the committee reject those changes and move the bill forward”. Said State Rep Shannon Roers Jones.

If the bill makes it through the house, it still has to make it through the senate after crossover.