2023 legislative session ends with no action on medical cannabis while activists pursue a 2024 ballot initiative

In early April, Idaho lawmaker adjourned the 2023 legislative session. A Republican-sponsored bill to legalize medical cannabis was introduced but failed to advance. Idaho remains one of a handful of states that has not adopted any kind of meaningful cannabis policy reform in recent years. A group of advocates with Kind Idaho are looking to change that. After an unsuccessful effort to collect enough signatures for a medical cannabis ballot initiative in 2022, the coalition of patients and allies is trying again with a new 2024 measure.

The proposal for 2024 is nearly identical to the previous language. If the initiative ultimately qualifies for the ballot and is approved by voters, it would create a medical cannabis program overseen by the Department of Health and Welfare for patients with serious health conditions. It would also permit patients to appoint caregivers and establish a system of medical cannabis dispensaries.

State lawmakers have tried in recent years to make ballot qualification more difficult for citizen-initiated measures, but fortunately, the Idaho Supreme Court has rebuffed those efforts.

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Learn more about Idaho's marijuana laws

Under current Idaho law, an individual charged with possession of up to an ounce of marijuana faces a year in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. Unfortunately, this draconian law hits minority communities the hardest. According to the ACLU, Black Idahoans are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for possession than their white neighbors.

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