Marijuana Moment: Idaho Senate Passes Resolution Urging Voters Not To Sign Medical Marijuana Ballot Petitions

[Tokeativity]

The Idaho Senate has approved a resolution urging voters in the state to “reject” an ongoing effort to place an initiative to legalize medical marijuana on the November ballot.

The measure, sponsored by the Senate State Affairs Committee, claims that cannabis legalization in other states has led to a host of harms, including “increased cartel activity, development of black market marijuana production, human trafficking, and increased crime rates” as well as “increased rates of serious health issues,” environmental harms and “safety concerns on job sites.”

SCR 127, which was adopted on the Senate floor on Monday in a voice vote, further argues that the measure would not only increase costs to the state but that its list of approved medical conditions is “so broad that almost anyone could qualify.”

“The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act lacks safeguards to such an extent that it would effectively legalize widespread recreational use of marijuana,” the resolution now headed for consideration in the House of Representatives claims. “The legalization of marijuana would have devastating impacts on Idaho children and their families… The Legislature urges the citizens of Idaho to reject any effort to bring the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act to the ballot.”

A statement of purpose filed with the legislation says it “addresses the devastating impact that legalizing marijuana has had on other states” and “identifies the significant problems” with the ballot initiative.

The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI), which is leading the effort to place the legalization measure before voters this November, pushed back against the resolution.

“Idahoans deserve to vote on this issue, and we are confident we will be able to get it in front of them this November to do just that,” Amanda Watson, a spokesperson for the group, said in a press release last week when the resolution was filed. “There are thousands of people across Idaho with stories like Dr. Tunney’s and they deserve dignified care and the option to choose an alternative to opioids. NMAI has operating field offices in every corner of the state and we are actively recruiting more team members in Coeur d’Alene, Meridian, Boise, Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls. We are not taking our foot off the gas until the final bell rings.”

Contrary to the claims made about  marijuana reform in the legislative resolution, advocates often point to data showing that legalizing and regulating cannabis diminishes the size of the illegal market and has not led to increases in youth use.

Sen. Ben Toews (R) said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote on Monday that “with good reason, Idaho is one of four states in which marijuana is fully illegal, and we should urge Idahoans to reject any effort to bring the medical cannabis act to the November 2026 ballot.”

“Idaho sovereignty should not be compromised by an addiction for profit business dominated by secretive donors and out of state consultants and drug interests,” he said.

In contrast, Sen. Melissa Wintrow (D) rose to share a personal story about the medical benefits of cannabis.

“When my mom was dying of cancer and wasting away emaciated and wouldn’t eat because she was just didn’t have the appetite, she was in another state, and we talked about medical cannabis to get her appetite up and so she would gain weight and could withstand the cancer treatments,” she said. “And I can remember how desperate I was and my mother. So I think before we just throw out the use of medical marijuana, that we should really think about that.”

NMAI recently released an analysis showing that Idaho could see more than $100 million worth of medical marijuana sold on an annual basis and up to $28 million in new yearly revenue for state coffers if voters  approve the legalization initiative.

The group also announced that it’s collected enough signatures for the cannabis measure to exceed the statewide threshold for ballot qualification. But because it’s unclear how many signatures the campaign has collected to far are valid and whether activists have met a separate requirement for regional distribution of petitions, NMAI is continuing to hold signature gathering events across the state to widen their coalition of supporters in the run-up to the May 1 submission deadline.

Amanda Watson, NMAI’s communications lead, told Marijuana Moment last week that organizers “feel very confident we will qualify for the ballot in November.”

As of Tuesday, NMAI has collected more than 77,000 signatures total—exceeding the 70,725 statewide requirement for valid petitions—according to the campaign’s website. To be certified for the ballot, the team also needs to submit signatures from 6 percent of registered voters from at least 18 of the state’s 35 legislative districts.

Meanwhile, teams of paid and volunteer petitioners are being deployed throughout the state to target high-traffic areas to gather signatures, and NMAI’s website features a map showing where registered voters can go to sign.

The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act, which NMAI unveiled last October, would provide patients with qualifying conditions access to marijuana from a limited number of dispensaries and provide a regulatory framework for the market.

Here are the main provisions of the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act:

• Health practitioners would be able to recommend medical cannabis to patients with conditions that include, but are not limited to, cancer, anxiety and acute pain.
• Medical marijuana patients or their designated caregiver could purchase up to 113 grams of smokeable cannabis, or 20 grams of THC extract for vaping, per month.
• The state would be start by issuing three vertically integrated cannabis business licenses, after which point it could license up to six total.
• Marijuana would be reclassified under state law as a Schedule II, rather than Schedule I, controlled substance.
• State and local law enforcement would be barred from assisting in federal drug enforcement activities related to the state-legal cannabis program.
• There would be anti-discrimination protections for those who use or sell marijuana in compliance from state law, preventing adverse actions by employers, landlords and educational institutions.
• It does not appear that there would be any equity-centered reforms, nor would the initiative provide for a home grow option.

“We believe Idahoans deserve access to legal, compassionate, natural care right here at home,” NMAI’s website says. “Our mission is to give patients a legal pathway to natural medicine that can ease suffering and restore dignity without the fear of addiction.”

“The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act is our first step forward. It creates a safe, tightly regulated medical program that allows qualified Idahoans to seek medical cannabis treatment with a valid diagnosis from a healthcare provider,” it says. “It supports Idaho agriculture, generates tax revenue to reinvest locally, and ensures that patients can find natural relief.”

The campaign last month also released the results of a statewide poll showing that 83 percent of likely voters back medical cannabis legalization, including 74 percent of Republicans, 95 percent of Democrats and 92 percent of independents.

Asked how they would vote if the current medical cannabis legalization does appear on the November ballot, 76 percent of respondents said “yes.” Of that cohort, 50 percent said they would “definitively” vote yes, and just 21 percent said they’d vote “no.”

After the medical cannabis initiative was unveiled last year, a separate campaign that launched in 2024, Kind Idaho, told supporters that it would be suspending its own signature gathering for a ballot initiative to legalize the personal possession and cultivation of marijuana by adults.

Kind Idaho previously introduced medical marijuana ballot measures intended to go before voters in both the 2022 and 2024 elections, but the efforts proved unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, voters this year will see a different kind of proposal on the ballot: A constitutional amendment that the legislature approved to make it so only lawmakers could legalize marijuana or other controlled substances.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

Legislators separately held a hearing last March to discuss a bill to enact medical cannabis legalization legislatively, but there hasn’t been meaningful action on the issue in the months since.

Separately, a bill from Rep. Bruce Skaug (R) last year would have set a $420 mandatory minimum fine for cannabis possession, removing judges’ discretion to apply lower penalties. Skaug said the bill, which ultimately stalled in committee, would send the message that Idaho is tough on marijuana.

House lawmakers also passed a bill to ban marijuana advertisements, though the Senate later defeated the measure.

Photo courtesy of Max Pixel.

The post Idaho Senate Passes Resolution Urging Voters Not To Sign Medical Marijuana Ballot Petitions appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net