Editor's Note: How can legislators ignore statistics that high–74% of the state's residents support marijuana for “terminally or seriously ill patients,” according to this Marijuana.com article. Plus, Idaho's marijuana laws epitomize the very war on prohibition that most of the industry is trying to fight: In Idaho, possession of marijuana–or even just paraphernalia–is punishable by one year in jail. One year.
Especially considering that:
- there are now four states in the country where recreational use of marijuana is legal
- 23 states and Guam now have legalized medical marijuana programs
- 18 states have decriminalized marijuana (removing criminal charges, or jail time, in favor of civil charges, or fines for possession of small amounts of marijuana)
- some of the nation's largest cities have decriminalized marijuana (including Philadelphia and New York)
… how can other states continue incarcerating people for possession of small amounts of marijuana or even paraphernalia?
Marijuana advocates in states across the country are shaking off the failed attempts of the past and uniting groups to face the future together. That’s what happened in Idaho where former members of Compassionate Idaho, a now-dissolved advocacy group, and Moms for Marijuana International joined to fight prohibition together.
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported Friday that New Approach Idaho plans to bring an initiative in 2016 to legalize marijuana. While a Boise State University poll from 2010 showed 74% of Idaho residents supporting marijuana for “terminally or seriously ill patients,” the group faces stiff opposition in a state whose legislature formally opposed any legalization in 2013.
