Medical cannabis advocates cleared to begin collecting signatures for new Idaho ballot initiative

OG article by Clark Corbin

November 3, 2025

BOISE — A coalition of Idahoans supporting the legalization of medical cannabis for people with debilitating medical conditions has received the go-ahead to begin collecting signatures for a ballot initiative for the November 2026 election.

The Boise-based group Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho, which was created this year, announced Oct. 29 it is beginning to collect signatures attempting to qualify the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act to go before voters in the 2026 general election.

The group filed an initiative petition with the state Aug. 29 and received ballot titles from the Idaho Attorney General’s Office on Oct. 20.

Under Idaho state law, cannabis means marijuana, and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act seeks to:

• Allow qualifying patients with chronic pain or debilitating conditions like cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder or Alzheimer’s to access regulated cannabis for treatment.

• Establish a regulated licensing system for Idaho-based producers and dispensaries.

• Prohibit public use, sharing, and impaired driving.

• Reclassify cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 in state law for research.

“This is about giving families and individuals options when nothing else has worked,” said Amanda Watson, communications lead for the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho.

The initiative sets up a potential clash with a legislative proposal (HJR 4) that would strip voters of the power to legalize marijuana via ballot measure.