Activists are gearing up for a push to qualify an adult-use marijuana legalization measure for Idaho’s 2022 ballot following victories in similarly conservative states like Montana and South Dakota last month. The new move comes amid a separate push to put a more limited medical cannabis initiative before voters during the upcoming midterm election.
There are few details available about the recreational measure’s provisions and how the campaign will proceed at this point, but leaders are confident that Idaho is ready for the broad policy change. And as it stands, the state is already mostly surrounded by neighbors that have legalization on the books—with Montana voters approving the reform just a few weeks ago.
An attempt to put medical cannabis reform on the state’s ballot this year was abandoned due to signature gathering complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In October, the Idaho Citizens Coalition resubmitted a petition to get the more modest reform done in 2022, but that effort is now being transitioned to another group, Kind Idaho.
Russ Belville, who previously served as a campaign spokesperson for the medical cannabis measure through the Idaho Citizens Coalition, announced last week that he will be the chief petitioner of the newly proposed Idaho Marijuana Legalization Act.
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