Idaho: Campaign to Place Medical Cannabis Question on November’s Ballot Surpasses Signature Threshold, Lawmakers Call on Voters to Reject Effort
- Supporters of the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act have collected over 77,000 signatures, surpassing the 70,725 required to qualify the measure for the November ballot, though the signatures still need state verification.
- The proposed act would allow qualified patients with a physician’s recommendation to obtain medical cannabis from state-licensed providers, with polls showing over 80% of Idaho residents support legalization.
- In response, Idaho lawmakers introduced SCR 127, a resolution urging voters to reject the measure, citing concerns about negative impacts on children and fears it would legalize recreational marijuana use.
- Despite legislative resistance and recent laws imposing strict penalties on marijuana possession, advocates and organizations like NORML emphasize that lawmakers’ opposition conflicts with the majority public opinion favoring medical cannabis access.
Backers of a statewide ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis access announced that they have surpassed the total number of signatures necessary to qualify the question for the November ballot.
According to an update posted on the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho’s website, campaigners have gathered more than 77,000 signatures from registered voters. However, those signatures have yet to be verified by state regulators. Under state law, petitioners must gather 70,725 signatures from Idaho voters. That total must include signatures from at least six percent of voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts.
The proposed ballot measure (The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act) permits qualified patients with a physician’s recommendation to obtain cannabis from state-licensed operators. According to statewide polling compiled by the campaign, over 80 percent of Idahoans support legalizing medical cannabis access.
Following the campaign’s announcement, lawmakers introduced a resolution (SCR 127) urging voters to “reject any effort to bring the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act to the ballot.” Text of the resolution states that the Act “would have devastating impacts on Idaho children and their families … and would effectively legalize widespread recreational use of marijuana.”
NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said that politicians’ opposition to the effort is disappointing but hardly surprising. “Lawmakers are aware that their hostility toward medical cannabis is out-of-step with most voters. That is why politicians are seeking to remove voters’ voices from the equation.”
Idaho is one of only a handful of states that makes no allowances for patients’ use of medical cannabis products. Last year, Republican Gov. Brad Little signed legislation into law imposing mandatory minimum penalties for first-time marijuana possession offenders.
Lawmakers in 2025 also passed separate legislation placing a ballot question before voters that, if passed, would prohibit citizens from weighing in on “any future voter-initiated ballot questions legalizing marijuana.” Voters will decide on the ballot question this November.
Additional information is available from the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho’s website and from NORML’s Election Central. NORML’s legislative alert opposing SCR 127 is available from the Take Action Center.