The Idaho Legislative Council last week approved language for a ballot measure that seeks to amend the state constitution so that only lawmakers have the authority to legalize cannabis and other psychoactive or narcotic substances, the Idaho Capital Sun reports.
The approved ballot language includes statements both for and against the proposal.
The language supporting the proposal reads:
“Drugs destroy lives, tear apart families, and threaten the safety of our communities. Decisions about legalizing marijuana, narcotics, and other psychoactive substances are too important to be made lightly. The proposed amendment would ensure that any proposal to legalize these dangerous substances would go through the legislative process. Public hearings would be held on the proposal, where law enforcement and people whose lives have been damaged by drugs would be able to testify. Legislators would carefully consider each proposal and would be publicly accountable for their votes.”
The language opposing the proposal reads:
“The Idaho Constitution says that all political power belongs to the people. But the proposed amendment would take power away from the people by getting rid of their ability to pass drug legalization laws on their own through ballot initiatives. The people are as capable of making good, careful decisions about drug policy as legislators are. The amendment is also unnecessary because if the people did ever pass a poorly considered law legalizing drugs, the Legislature would have the power to amend or repeal it.”
The ballot measure could appear on the same ballots as a question led by citizen advocates to legalize medical cannabis. The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho last month submitted its petition signatures to county clerks and indicated it had collected more than 100,000 signatures to put the issue on the November general election ballots.
It’s unclear what would happen if voters approve both initiatives, voting both to legalize medical cannabis and also to put legalization reforms solely in the hands of the Legislature.
