Idaho activists collected more than double the required signature count to land a medical cannabis legalization proposal on the 2026 ballot, and now it’s up to county clerks to determine how many are valid.
Boise-based Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho (NMAI) gathered 150,000-plus signatures ahead of a May 1 deadline in an effort to qualify the group’s legalization proposal, the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act, for this November’s statewide ballot, campaign Communications Lead Amanda Watson told Cannabis Business Times on May 6.
The group needs 70,725 of those signatures, or roughly 47%, to be validated during a 60-day verification process that local election officials must conclude no later than June 30. The signatures would then go to the Idaho Secretary of State’s office.
Watson said that NMAI’s “rigorous signature-gathering effort” stretched to “every corner of Idaho,” including all 44 counties, to ensure that signatures came from at least 6% of the state’s registered voters in at least 18 of 35 legislative districts.
“During the work our teams did on the ground to reach Idahoans and obtain the necessary signatures (and well beyond), we were moved and inspired by the many individuals who expressed support, shared their stories and reiterated their appreciation for the democratic process that allows for their voice to be heard through a citizen-led effort,” Watson said.
“This milestone belongs to the tens of thousands of Idahoans who signed,” she said. “Together, we have moved the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act one step closer to the ballot and one step closer to a decision made by the people of Idaho themselves. Now we await the count, and the chance to bring this issue before voters in November."
This effort comes as Idaho remains one of the nation’s last eight holdouts on legalizing a medical cannabis program, even a highly restrictive program, as seen in Texas, Georgia and Iowa.
Under the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act, patients with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s disease and other qualifying health conditions could purchase up to 113 grams (roughly 4 ounces) of smokable cannabis (flower) or 20 grams of THC in inhalable form (vape) monthly. Ingestible cannabis products (edibles) would be limited to 10 milligrams of THC per serving.
The proposal would also open the door to a commercial marketplace in which the state’s Board of Pharmacy could initially license up to three vertically integrated businesses, allowing them to cultivate, process, transport and sell medical cannabis to cardholding patients. Each licensee would be limited to two cultivation and production facilities and no more than six dispensaries.
“It creates a safe, tightly regulated medical program that allows qualified Idahoans to seek medical cannabis treatment with a valid diagnosis from a health care provider,” according to the NMAI website. “It supports Idaho agriculture, generates tax revenue to reinvest locally and ensures that patients can find natural relief.”
The proposal also includes public safeguards, prohibiting public cannabis use, impaired driving and patients from sharing their cannabis supplies with others. It also includes protections for registered patients, including employment, housing and custody discrimination.
Should the initiated statute go before voters, its outlook for passage appears favorable: 83% of likely Idaho voters support medical cannabis legalization, including 74% of Republicans, according to an NMAI-commissioned survey conducted in October.
And this could be the Gem State voters’ last chance to reform their cannabis laws via a citizen-initiated measure amid an effort by Idaho lawmakers to block future attempts.
In 2025, the state Legislature passed a joint resolution to place a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot that would prevent citizens from putting future petitions on the ballot that aim to legalize cannabis, narcotics and other psychoactive substances in an attempt to reserve that power solely for lawmakers.
Separately, Idaho lawmakers attempted to squash support for NMAI’s current initiative petition, adopting a resolution in early April that urged voters not to sign the group’s proposal.
“Idaho’s sovereignty should not be compromised by an addiction-for-profit business dominated by secretive donors and out-of-state consultants and drug interests,” Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, said on the Senate floor. “Idaho should expose the marijuana industry. Legalizing marijuana has led to increases in violent crime, impaired driving and drug trafficking in other states.”
Those remarks come at a time when Idahoans seeking alternative treatments for their medical conditions face criminal penalties and the possibility of jail time for possessing any amount of cannabis.
