It might seem like the longest of long shots, but cannabis advocates in Idaho are not giving up. They are moving ahead with plans to get medical marijuana legalization on the ballot in their state in 2024.

Even if the issue makes it on the ballot, the chances of passage seem slim. Idaho is one of just a handful of states without any type of cannabis legalization, medical or recreational. But Kind Idaho, the organization driving the ballot effort, are actively engaged in collecting signatures to ensure the inclusion of their proposal on the 2024 ballot.

Joe Evans, treasurer of Kind Idaho, said the primary objective is to legalize “medical cannabis for cardholders in the state of Idaho,” according to KTVB in Boise, Idaho. He said under the proposed change, people would have the opportunity to consult with a doctor to assess whether their diagnosis justifies the use of medical cannabis for recovery and healing.

“This gives them the opportunity to go in, sit down with a doctor, determine whether or not the diagnosis warrants medical cannabis to support recovery and healing. And then they receive the card. And that allows them to go to a dispensary to receive it,” he said.

Challenges With Medical Cannabis Legalization in Idaho

Kind Idaho faces a significant challenge in gathering signatures for their petitions, as they must secure approximately 63,000 signatures from registered voters by April 14 to qualify for the ballot. It’s a particularly difficult task given that cannabis remains illegal at any level in Idaho.

They face trying to succeed in a state with a long list of failures when it comes to medical cannabis legalization. That list dates back to 2012, when activists fell short of gathering enough signatures for their medical cannabis proposal to qualify for the ballot.

This setback repeated itself two years later, with another signature drive failing to meet the necessary requirements. Subsequent attempts in 2015 and 2016 were thwarted by ballot technicalities, leading to the fizzling out of medical cannabis campaigns.

Focusing Only on Medical Cannabis

Medical cannabis has been legalized in many conservative states, while recreational cannabis often faces roadblocks. Evans and his team are optimistic that this time will yield different results in Idaho when the focus is entirely on medical cannabis. The initiative does not even include decriminalization.

Idaho finds itself surrounded by neighboring states – Washington and Oregon to the west, Nevada to the south, and Montana to the east – that have already legalized recreational marijuana for adults. However, Wyoming and Utah, another two states bordering Idaho, still maintain prohibition on cannabis.

Cannabis businesses in Ontario, Oregon, approximately an hour from Idaho’s capital city of Boise, have catered to a significant influx of cross-state customers. Steve Meland, owner of Hotbox Farms in Ontario, told NPR,  “The politicians have been able to have this scenario where they say that they don’t have legal cannabis. But in all actuality, we all know there’s legal cannabis in Boise.”

Meland emphasized the broader market served by businesses in proximity to Idaho, with over a million people residing within a 100-mile radius of the store.