Idaho Advocates Collecting Signatures for Medical Cannabis Initiative

Kind Idaho is collecting signatures for a 2022 medical cannabis ballot initiative, the Cannabis Business Times reports. The activists have collected 5,000 of the 65,000 signatures needed to place the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act (IMMA) on 2022 ballots, according to Jackee Winters, an Idaho mom whose daughter suffers from a brain tumor.

Winters told the Cannabis Business Times that Idaho needs to “grow up” and is “behind the times.” She believes the state needs “medical advancements” to help Idahoans, like her daughter, who “suffer.”

“I don’t want to have to relocate my entire family. … It’s not fair that she’s got to suffer, and they basically try to turn us all into criminals by not letting us have our own choice.”—Winters to the Cannabis Business Times

If passed, the act would legalize the possession of up to 4 ounces of cannabis for patients, who could grow six plants at home upon acquiring a “hardship waiver.” Additionally, IMMA would set up a network of dispensaries across the rural state.

Winters said the group has had a slow start finding volunteers but says they just finished a signature-gathering campaign at Idaho Hemp Fest, a pro-cannabis event held annually in Boise, and plan on collecting more signatures at other fairs around Idaho.

“People may not know of us because it’s our first time doing this, or [word] hasn’t gotten out there,” Winters said in the report. “We just keep trucking along, wishing for the best.”

In addition to Kind Idaho’s efforts to pass medical cannabis, another organization, The Idaho Way, is working to pass a measure that would decriminalize up to 3 ounces of cannabis for adults in a “private setting.” Similar to Kind Idaho, they must collect roughly 65,000 signatures to appear on the next year’s ballots.