I am now living on the border of the state of my birth, Idaho, in the border town of Ontario. I’m here to help end adult marijuana prohibition in the last state in America that still prohibits hemp. To that end, I have compiled all of the Idaho marijuana facts I can find, shared here for your use.
Idaho Marijuana Facts: Legal Status
Idaho is America’s Last Absolute Prohibition State
- Idaho is the only state[1] where possession of any cannabis — even non-drug industrial hemp — is a crime that can result in an immediate arrest.
- Idaho is the only state whose governor has vetoed[2] a law passed to allow non-psychoactive CBD oil as medicine for epileptic children.
The United States is Moving on Without Idaho
- Marijuana legalization swept all 5 states[3] — “blue” and “red” — in the 2020 Election:
- New Jersey (Legalization 1oz, no home grow) 67%.
- Arizona (Legalization 1oz, home grow) 60%.
- Montana (Legalization 1oz, home grow) 57%.
- Mississippi (Medical 2.5oz, no home grow) 69%.
- South Dakota (Medical 3oz, home grow) 70% and (Legalization 1oz, limited home grow) 54%.
- 68% of all Americans polled by Gallup[4] support marijuana legalization, including
- 60% of those over age 50, 55% of those over age 65.
- Nearly half of Republicans (48%), conservatives (49%), and weekly churchgoers (48%).
- The House this week passed[5] a bill (The MORE Act) to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, expunge past marijuana crimes, and establish a federal marijuana sales tax.
- President-elect Biden has vowed[6] to decriminalize marijuana possession.
The World is Moving on Without Idaho
Idaho Marijuana Facts: Polling
Idaho is Ready for Medical Marijuana
- 73% of Idahoans polled[9] by Idaho Medical Marijuana Act 2020 support medical marijuana, with 54% “Definitely yes,” and overall support improving to 78% once told more about the initiative, and to 81% for medical marijuana generally.
- Idahoans support medical marijuana for chronic pain (83%), dispensaries (79%), protection of parental, housing, and driving rights (76%), sales tax to cover regulatory costs (71%), sales tax to fund education and veterans services (64%), possession limits of 4oz (58%), and limiting home grow to those 50 miles from a dispensary (56%).
- Idahoans oppose local options to ban medical marijuana (57%), home grow for all patients (54%), and are ambivalent on per capita restrictions (5:20,000) on retail marijuana shops and grows (49% support, 37% oppose, 14% don’t know).
Idaho Marijuana Facts: Criminal Penalties
Merely being in a room where marijuana is stored[10]
- Misdemeanor, 90 days prison, $300 fine.
Merely being under the influence of marijuana in public[11]
- 1st & 2nd Offense: Misdemeanor, 6 months prison, $1,000 fine, up to $200 arrest reimbursement
- 3rd Offense within five years: Misdemeanor, mandatory 120 days to 1 year prison, $1,000 fine.
Merely renting a dwelling to someone you know uses or grows marijuana[12]
- Misdemeanor, 1 year prison, $25,000 fine.
Possessing marijuana for personal use[13]
- Up to 3oz: Misdemeanor, 1 year prison, $1,000 fine
- 3oz up to 1lb: Felony, 5 years prison, $10,000 fine.
- 1lb or more: Automatically considered possession with intent to distribute.
Possessing marijuana with intent to distribute (punished the same as actual sales or delivery)[14]
- 1lb up to 5lb: Felony, mandatory 1 year to 15 years prison, mandatory $5,000 to $50,000 fine.
- 5lb up to 25lb: Felony, mandatory 5 years to 15 years prison, mandatory $10,000 to $50,000 fine.
- 25lb or more: Felony, mandatory 5 years to 15 years prison, mandatory $15,000 to $50,000 fine.
Growing cannabis plants[15]
- Up to 24: Felony, 5 years prison, $15,000 fine.
- 25 to 49: Felony, mandatory 1 year to 15 years prison, mandatory $5,000 to $50,000 fine.
- 50 to 99: Felony, mandatory 3 years to 15 years prison, mandatory $10,000 to $50,000 fine.
- 100 and over: Felony, mandatory 5 years to 15 years prison, mandatory $15,000 to $50,000 fine.
Any marijuana possession conviction
- Driver’s license revoked for up to 1 year[16].
- Any second offense is subject to double prison term and double the fine[17].
- Property may be taken by law enforcement if a preponderance of the evidence — not a criminal conviction — ties the property to a marijuana crime[18].
- Property tied to a marijuana crime will be taken by law enforcement upon a criminal conviction[19].
Idaho Marijuana Facts: Proximity to Legal Marijuana
- 50% of Idaho’s population now lives within one-hour drive of a legal marijuana shop (80% are within a two-hour drive).
- Enforcement is haphazard throughout the state. For example, in Ada County, officers in Boise are half as likely[20] as officers in Meridian to arrest, rather than cite and summons, an adult possessing marijuana.
Oregon
- Shops in Ontario (Malheur County), Oregon, serving the Boise/Payette metros, have doubled their sales[21] in the past year (Oct 2020 = $8.6M, Oct 2019 = $4.3M).
Washington
- Shops in Spokane, Pullman, and Clarkston, Washington, have been serving Northern Idaho for over five years.
- The 3 Idaho border counties sold on average $12.2M per month in FY 2020[22].
Nevada
- A shop has been approved[23] in Jackpot, Nevada, to serve the Twin Falls metro.
Montana
- Legalization passing in Montana means freeway access to Missoula for Idaho’s mountain counties, to Monida for the Interstate 15 corridor leading from Pocatello and Idaho Falls, and to West Yellowstone for the Wyoming border counties.
Utah
- Utah passed a medical marijuana law in 2018. Industrial hemp is legal.
Wyoming
- Wyoming allows low-THC CBD oil to be used as medicine. Industrial hemp is legal.
Canada
- Recreational marijuana, medical marijuana, and industrial hemp are all legal in Canada.
Idaho Marijuana Facts: Legalization Talking Points
Marijuana Prohibition Costs Idaho Taxpayers
- Nine out of ten marijuana arrests in Idaho in 2010 were for simple possession[24], not sales or cultivation.
- 56% of all Idaho marijuana arrests[25] resulted in the suspect being taken to jail.
- Over half of all drug arrests[26] in Idaho in 2010 were for marijuana.
- Enforcing criminal prohibition cost Idaho police $4,390 per arrest between 2001–2010[27].
- In 2010[28], marijuana enforcement racked up Idaho police costs of $5,520,933, Idaho court costs of $4,861,350, and Idaho prison costs of $1,502,169.
- Idaho arrested 4,129 people for marijuana in 2016[29].
- Imprisoning people for marijuana cost states $28,323 per prisoner per day in 2010[30].
- Every marijuana arrest consumes around 2.5 hours of a police officer’s time[31].
Marijuana Prohibition Is Not Stopping Idaho Marijuana Consumers
- 8.45% of Idaho adults (18+) use marijuana monthly[32] (~113,000 Idahoans) and 13.96% use annually (~187,000).
- Only 25.27% of Idaho adults (18+) consider[33] monthly marijuana smoking to be a “great risk.”
- Idaho police seized 2,476 pounds of marijuana and 252 cannabis plants in 2014[34].
Idaho can’t stop adults from crossing the border to buy legal marijuana to take home, then Idaho loses all the marijuana tax revenue it could use to deal with any marijuana problems, then Idaho spends more tax dollars futilely trying to stop those adults.
Legalization Has Not Increased Teen Marijuana Use or Teen Marijuana Disorders
- Legalization of marijuana for adults was associated with an 8% decline in past 30-day marijuana use and a 9% decline in frequent use among teens[35].
- Past-year prevalence of marijuana use disorders among US adolescents declined by an estimated 24% from 2002–2013[36].
- States with marijuana legalization saw their teenage marijuana rehab admissions drop by almost half from 2008–2017[37].
Legalization Has Not Decreased Traffic Safety
- Idaho—not Oregon or Washington—has been the state with the greatest traffic fatality rate[38] in the Pacific Northwest.
- Scare statistics about THC found in the blood of fatality drivers in legal states ignore the fact that such detection does not prove any impairment[39]—merely that the driver had used cannabis sometime in the past.
- Scare statistics from IIHS[40] about crashes in legal states compare apples and oranges—legal states that have cities like Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, and Denver (all over 650,000 pop.) vs. illegal states that have towns like Boise, Missoula, Salt Lake, and Cheyenne (all under 250,000).
- The Food & Drug Administration acknowledges that regular consumers of synthetic THC[41]—a more impairing substance than natural cannabis THC—can develop enough tolerance to its impairing effects to safely drive and operate heavy machinery.
Idaho Marijuana Facts: Receipts
[1] 15 states have legalized adult-use marijuana (https://norml.org/laws/legalization/), those states plus 21 more (36) have legalized medical marijuana (https://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/legal-medical-marijuana-states-and-dc/), and all but Idaho have legalized medical CBD oil (https://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/states-with-legal-cannabidiol-cbd/) and industrial hemp (https://www.votehemp.com/resources/state-hemp-law/).
[2] Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter Veto Statement of S1146a, April 16, 2015: “[The CBD bill] asks us to look past the potential for misuse and abuse with criminal intent. … This bill has the potential to exacerbate problems health problems of the critically ill and decrease public safety.”
[3] “Marijuana on the Ballot,” Ballotpedia (https://ballotpedia.org/Marijuana_on_the_ballot#By_year)
[4] “Support for Legal Marijuana Inches Up to New High of 68%,” Gallup (https://news.gallup.com/poll/323582/support-legal-marijuana-inches-new-high.aspx)
[5] “House passes bill decriminalizing marijuana at federal level,” CNN 12/04/2020 (https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/house-vote-more-act-marijuana-legislation/index.html)
[6] “Biden-Harris pledge to decriminalize marijuana,” Sinclair Broadcast Group 9/17/2020 (https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/cannabis-in-the-presidential-race-biden-harris-pledge-to-decriminalize-marijuana)
[7] “U.N. Reclassifies Cannabis as a Less Dangerous Drug,” New York Times 12/2/2020 (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/world/europe/cannabis-united-nations-drug-policy.html)
[8] “Vote in Mexico brings world’s largest legal weed market one step closer,” Reuters 11/19/2020 (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-cannabis-vote/vote-in-mexico-brings-worlds-largest-legal-weed-market-one-step-closer-idUSKBN27Z3BK)
[9] FM3 Research Poll conducted May 2019
[10] Idaho Code Ann. § 37-2732(d)
[11] Idaho Code Ann. § 37-2732C
[12] Idaho Code Ann. § 37-2732(d)
[13] Idaho Code Ann. §§ 37-2732(c)(3), (e)
[14] Idaho Code Ann. §§ 37-2732(a)(1)(B); 37-2732B(a)(1), (7)-(8); 37-2739A
[15] Suspension and deferral are not available for trafficking in marijuana offenses. Parole may not be granted until the minimum sentences are completed. A second offense will receive double the mandatory prison term. Within ten years of a serious drug trafficking offense, a life sentence may be given.
[16] Idaho Code Ann. § 18-1502C(3)(a)
[17] Idaho Code Ann. § 37-2739
[18] Idaho Code §§ 37-2744(d)(3)(D)(IV) (conveyances), 37-2744A(d)(4) (real property), 37-2744(d) (preponderance of the evidence standard).
[19] Ibid.
[20] “Using pot in Meridian? Compared to Boise, officers are twice as likely to take you to jail,” Idaho Statesman 2/2/2020 (https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article239237443.html)
[21] Oregon Liquor Control Commission, Recreational Marijuana Market Data (https://data.olcc.state.or.us/t/OLCCPublic/views/MarketDataTableau/CountyMap)
[22] “FY 20 MJ Sales Excise Tax by County,” Washington State Liquor & Cannabis Board (https://lcb.wa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Marijuana/sales_activity/FY20-MJ-Sales-Excise-Tax-by-County.xlsx)
[23] “Jackpot site may be rezoned for cannabis sales,” Magic Valley News, 11/18/2020 (https://magicvalley.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/jackpot-site-may-be-rezoned-for-cannabis-sales/article_cde0b68a-e96a-5a12-b66a-3f344d9a5ef2.html).
[24] “The War on Marijuana in Black and White,” American Civil Liberties Union (https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/1114413-mj-report-rfs-rel1.pdf#77)
[25] “Idaho Drug and Alcohol Offenses and Arrests 2007–2014,” Idaho Statistical Analysis Center, Idaho State Police (https://isp.idaho.gov/pgr/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2019/12/Drug-Trends-2007-2014.pdf)
[26] “The War on Marijuana in Black and White,” American Civil Liberties Union (https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/1114413-mj-report-rfs-rel1.pdf#77)
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program (https://norml.org/marijuana/library/state-marijuana-arrests/idaho-marijuana-arrests/)
[30] U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, State Corrections Expenditures, FY 1982-2010 (http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/scefy8210.pdf)
[31] “One Million Police Hours: Making 440,000 Marijuana Possession Arrests in New York City, 2002-2012,” Harry Levine, Loren Siegel, and Gabriel Sayegh (https://drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/One_Million_Police_Hours.pdf)
[32] “Interactive NSDUH State Estimates,” National Survey on Drug Use & Health 2017–2018 (https://pdas.samhsa.gov/saes/state). While our proposal would be for age 21 and older, NSDUH data is categorized by age 18 and older.
[33] Ibid.
[34] “Idaho Drug and Alcohol Offenses and Arrests 2007–2014,” Idaho Statistical Analysis Center, Idaho State Police (https://isp.idaho.gov/pgr/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2019/12/Drug-Trends-2007-2014.pdf)
[35] “Association of Marijuana Laws With Teen Marijuana Use New Estimates From the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys,” Journal of the American Medical Association, July 2019 (https://www.mpp.org/issues/legalization/teen-marijuana-use-does-not-increase/)
[36] “Declining Prevalence of Marijuana Use Disorders Among Adolescents in the United States, 2002 to 2013.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 55, no. 6, 2016 (https://www.mpp.org/issues/legalization/teen-marijuana-use-does-not-increase/)
[37] “Trends in Adolescent Treatment Admissions for Marijuana in the United States, 2008–2017,” Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0156.htm)
[38] “Fatality Analysis Reporting System,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1994–2018 (https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesFatalitiesFatalityRates.aspx)
[39] Toennes et al. 2008. Comparison of cannabinoid pharmacokinetic properties in occasional and heavy users smoking a marijuana or placebo joint. Journal of Analytical Toxicology 32: 470-477. “Heavy users might exhibit measurable cannabinoid concentrations in blood, even if the last cannabis use was more than 24 hours ago. This is due to redistribution from deep compartments and to the prolonged elimination of THC.”
[40] “Crashes rise in first states to begin legalized retail sales of recreational marijuana,” Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/crashes-rise-in-first-states-to-begin-legalized-retail-sales-of-recreational-marijuana)
[41] “MARINOL (dronabinol) Capsules Warnings,” Food & Drug Administration, “Patients receiving treatment with MARINOL® Capsules should be specifically warned not to drive, operate machinery, or engage in any hazardous activity until it is established that they are able to tolerate the drug and to perform such tasks safely.” (https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2005/018651s021lbl.pdf)
