Volunteers collect signatures in effort to put medical marijuana on 2020 ballot

Proponents of legal medical marijuana in Idaho are hoping to collect enough signatures in Weiser and across the state to put the issue on the ballot in 2020.
 The initiative effort cleared the first hurdle when Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney certified the petition submitted by the Idaho Cannabis Coalition, the sponsor of the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act, allowing the collection of signatures to proceed.
 Medical marijuana backers must collect 55,057 signatures, or 6 percent of registered voters in the 2018 gubernatorial election, to get the measure on the 2020 general election ballot.
 The signatures must be gathered from registered voters in at least 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts to ensure the petition has statewide support. The deadline to submit the petition signatures is April 30, 2020.
 The initiative would allow patients registered with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare with debilitating medical conditions to legally possess up to four ounces of marijuana.
 It would also permit the growing of up to six marijuana plants in certain situations, such as physical and financial hardship, and permit dispensaries regulated by the state to operate.
 Weiser resident Rus Lawrence is in favor of legalized medical marijuana and has been collecting signatures locally to put the issue before voters in Idaho next year.
 Like many advocates of medical marijuana, Lawrence has a health issue that he believes would be helped through the use of marijuana.
 He suffers from a chronic back condition and wants the option to use medical marijuana legally for pain. Because of a lung issue, he wouldn’t smoke marijuana but would use it in edible forms and creams.
 “I don’t take pain pills, and I need something to help my back,” he said.
 Lawrence acknowledged that some practioners in the medical community want to see more research and studies done before endorsing medical marijuana as therapeutic for his and other chronic conditions.
 All forms of marijuana use or possession – both recreational and medical – are currently illegal in Idaho.
 While marijuana can be purchased in Ontario, Ore.,, a short 16 miles from Weiser, it is illegal to bring it back across the state line.
 Another local resident has set up a table in public places around Weiser on numerous occasions to gather medical marijuana petition signatures.
 Jamie Murray has collected 200 signatures from Washington County voters so far and said the public response to the effort has been positive. Her goal is to collect 500 signatures and then turn in the ballots to the Idaho Cannabis Coalition.
 Murray believes that medical marijuana should be legal in Idaho for people with health issues. She said she has medical conditions and takes prescribed medications. She thinks marijuana would be more beneficial for her than pills in the long run.
 Murray said she is taking a little break from collecting petition signatures to work on another advocacy project.
 The use of marijuana for medical purposes is legal in 34 states and Washington, D.C., according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Medical marijuana is legal in all states bordering Idaho except Wyoming.