Idaho Passes Bill to Add Mandatory $300 Fine for Cannabis Possession

The Idaho Senate passed a measure Tuesday adding a mandatory $300 minimum fine to low-level cannabis possession cases in the state, the Idaho Capital Sun reports. The fine would be applied in addition to other criminal penalties under the law.

House Bill 7, which already passed through the House in January, was approved by the Senate with a 27-8 vote. The bill moves next to the desk of Gov. Brad Little (R), where he can choose to either sign the bill into law, allow the bill to become law without his signature, or veto the proposal. The bill, if adopted into law, would take effect starting June 1.

Proponents of the bill said the change would help keep cannabis-related crimes out of Idaho, which is one of the last U.S. states to still enforce a blanket prohibition on cannabis. Idaho’s neighboring states of Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Montana have all legalized cannabis for adults, while Utah operates a medical cannabis program. And to the north, Canada has legalized cannabis at the federal level.

Opponents of the proposal argued that the mandatory minimum fees would remove any chance for discretion exercised by judges and prosecutors in the cannabis cases. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow (D) noted there was an “arbitrary nature” to the measure, given that the Legislature rejected a strikingly similar bill last year that would have set a $420 mandatory minimum fine on cannabis possession crimes.