A new state-level campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Idaho has kicked off, with advocates hoping to place an initiative on the 2024 ballot.
The proposed ballot measure – filed Aug. 16 with the Idaho secretary of state’s office by Kind Idaho – is dubbed the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act of 2024.
Backers said the initiative is “nearly identical” to one they previously attempted to place on the 2022 ballot, which fell short for several reasons.
If the new measure is ultimately successful, it would:
- Legalize medical marijuana for qualifying patients, including those with chronic pain, cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder and about a dozen other ailments.
- Establish a non-vertically integrated market structure, with dispensaries, caregivers, manufacturers and growers, including a residency requirement for at least one principal officer of a given company.
- The measure contains no license caps, but instead leaves most industry rulemaking to the state Department of Health and Welfare.
The Kind Idaho campaign said in a video posted to Facebook that the next step is to revisit the secretary of state’s office in about five weeks to “pick up and review the changes that the (attorney general) suggests.”
In the interim, the campaign will continue fundraising for the effort, spokespeople said.
“Nov. 1 is our target date. That’s when we want to start collecting (signatures), that’s when we need donations, funds, money rolling in so we can make sure … this petition moves along smoothly,” a campaign spokesperson said.
John Schroyer, C. C., Long, A., Sacirbey, O., Lamers, M., & Schaneman, B. (2022, August 22). New Medical Marijuana Campaign launches in Idaho for 2024 ballot. MJBizDaily. Retrieved August 23, 2022, from https://mjbizdaily.com/new-medical-marijuana-campaign-launches-in-idaho-for-2024-ballot/