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An Idaho medical marijuana campaign<\/a> has announced that it turned in more than 150,000 signatures for a proposed legalization initiative it wants to qualify for the state\u2019s November ballot.<\/p>\n The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI) announced on Wednesday that it submitted the petitions ahead of last week\u2019s deadline. County clerks across the state now have until June 30 to verify the signatures and report to the secretary of state\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Amanda Watson, a spokesperson for the group, said that the petitions come from all 44 of the state\u2019s counties and are the result of a \u201crigorous signature gathering effort that stretched to every corner of Idaho.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the work our teams did on the ground to reach Idahoans and obtain the necessary signatures (and well beyond), we were moved and inspired by the many individuals who expressed support, shared their stories and reiterated their appreciation for the democratic process that allows for their voice to be heard through a citizen-led effort,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis milestone belongs to the tens of thousands of Idahoans who signed,\u201d Watson said. \u201cTogether, we have moved the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act one step closer to the ballot and one step closer to a decision made by the people of Idaho themselves. Now we await the count, and the chance to bring this issue before voters in November.\u201d<\/p>\n At this stage, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n To be certified for the ballot, the team needs to submit signatures from at least 6 percent of registered voters as of the state\u2019s last general election, which currently amounts to 70,725. They also need to meet that 6 percent threshold in at least 18 of the state\u2019s 35 legislative districts.<\/p>\n While NMAI has pursued ballot access, Idaho lawmakers have pushed back. Both the Senate and House of Representatives passed a resolution this session urging voters to \u201creject\u201d the medical marijuana petition<\/a>.<\/p>\n The measure, sponsored by the Senate State Affairs Committee, claims that cannabis legalization in other states has led to a host of harms, including \u201cincreased cartel activity, development of black market marijuana production, human trafficking, and increased crime rates\u201d as well as \u201cincreased rates of serious health issues,\u201d environmental harms and \u201csafety concerns on job sites.\u201d<\/p>\n It argues that the marijuana initiative would not only increase costs to the state but that its list of approved medical conditions is \u201cso broad that almost anyone could qualify.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Idaho Medical Cannabis Act lacks safeguards to such an extent that it would effectively legalize widespread recreational use of marijuana,\u201d the resolution claims. \u201cThe legalization of marijuana would have devastating impacts on Idaho children and their families\u2026 The Legislature urges the citizens of Idaho to reject any effort to bring the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act to the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n A statement of purpose filed with the legislation says it \u201caddresses the devastating impact that legalizing marijuana has had on other states\u201d and \u201cidentifies the significant problems\u201d with the ballot initiative.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, NMAI recently released an analysis showing that Idaho could see more than $100 million worth of medical marijuana sold<\/a> on an annual basis and up to $28 million in new yearly revenue for state coffers if voters\u00a0 approve the legalization initiative.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Here are the main provisions of the\u00a0Idaho Medical Cannabis Act<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe believe Idahoans deserve access to legal, compassionate, natural care right here at home,\u201d NMAI\u2019s website says. \u201cOur mission is to give patients a legal pathway to natural medicine that can ease suffering and restore dignity without the fear of addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d it says<\/a>. \u201cIt supports Idaho agriculture, generates tax revenue to reinvest locally, and ensures that patients can find natural relief.\u201d<\/p>\n The campaign in February also released the results of a statewide poll showing that 83 percent of likely voters back medical cannabis legalization<\/a>, including 74 percent of Republicans, 95 percent of Democrats and 92 percent of independents.<\/p>\n Asked how they would vote if the current medical cannabis legalization does appear on the November ballot, 76 percent of respondents said \u201cyes.\u201d Of that cohort, 50 percent said they would \u201cdefinitively\u201d vote yes, and just 21 percent said they\u2019d vote \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u00a0ballot initiative to legalize the personal possession and cultivation of marijuana<\/a>\u00a0by adults.<\/p>\n Kind Idaho\u00a0previously introduced medical marijuana ballot measures intended to go before voters<\/a>\u00a0in both the 2022 and 2024 elections, but the efforts proved unsuccessful.<\/p>\n 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\u00a0only lawmakers could legalize marijuana or other controlled substances<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Legislators separately held a hearing last year to discuss a bill to enact medical cannabis legalization legislatively<\/a>, but there hasn\u2019t been meaningful action on the issue in the months since.<\/p>\n Separately, a bill from Rep. Bruce Skaug (R) last year would have\u00a0set a $420 mandatory minimum fine for cannabis possession<\/a>, removing judges\u2019 discretion to apply lower penalties. Skaug said the bill, which ultimately stalled in committee, would send the message that Idaho is tough on marijuana.<\/p>\n House lawmakers also passed\u00a0a bill to ban marijuana advertisements<\/a>, though the Senate later defeated the measure.<\/p>\n The post Idaho Medical Marijuana Campaign Turns In 150,000 Signatures For Legalization Ballot Measure<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
An Idaho medical marijuana campaign has announced that it turned in more than 150,000 signatures for a proposed legalization initiative it wants to qualify for the state\u2019s November ballot. The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI) announced on Wednesday that it submitted the petitions ahead of last week\u2019s deadline. CountyContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":85945,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85944"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85944"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85946,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85944\/revisions\/85946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Idaho Medical Marijuana Campaign Turns In 150,000 Signatures For Legalization Ballot Measure<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"