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Friendly Idaho Chairwoman Jackee Winters is focused on qualifying the group’s medical cannabis legalization initiative for state election in 2022 to help her daughter, who has a brain tumor, gain legal access to cannabis.

“It’s time for Idaho to grow up,” she said Cannabis business hours and Cannabis pharmacy. “There are people here who are suffering and we are lagging behind. We need medical advances in Idaho, and I don’t want to have to move my entire family. … It is not fair that she has to suffer, and they are basically trying to turn us all into criminals by not giving us a choice. “

Winters said Child Idaho has a “skeletal crew” of volunteers in various parts of the state and has collected approximately 5,000 of the 65,000 total signatures required to get the group’s medical cannabis legalization move Idaho Medical Marijuana Act for 2022 (IMMA), in front of the voters next year.

The IMMA would legalize the possession of up to 4 ounces of cannabis for medicinal purposes as well as the cultivation of up to six plants for patients with a “hardship waiver”. The move would also create a system of pharmacies to sell medical cannabis to qualified patients in the state.

“We are asking for regulated drugs – cannabis – that would be available [patients] when they need it, ”said Winters. “We really need something … for the people of Idaho who are suffering.”

Recruiting volunteers has been a challenge, Winters said, speculating that people may just be unfamiliar with Child Idaho’s campaign.

“People may not know us because we’re doing this for the first time, right? [word] hasn’t come out yet, ”she said.

Child Idaho has just completed a signature-gathering push for the Hempfest, an educational event taking place in Boise on Aug. 14, and plans to send volunteers to upcoming trade shows across the state.

“We just keep going and wish the best,” said Winters.

The Idaho Way, formerly known as the Idaho Citizen Coalition for Cannabis, is also working to introduce cannabis policy reform in Idaho in the form of a decriminalization initiative called Adult Decriminalization of Marijuana Act (PAMDA).

PAMDA would not create a commercial adult cannabis industry in Idaho, but would legalize the personal possession of up to 3 ounces of cannabis for adults 21 and older.

Like Kind Idaho, The Idaho Way is currently in the process of collecting approximately 65,000 signatures to put PAMDA on the Idaho 2022 ballot.

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During its final term in office, the Idaho legislature passed SB 1110who changed the signature collection requirements for groups like Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way to show their actions to voters.

Idaho’s previous law, which went into effect in 2013, required campaigning to collect signatures from 6% of registered voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. According to SB 1110, they must collect the signatures of 6% of registered voters in all 35 districts in order to qualify their initiatives for the vote, which, according to Winters, is “practically impossible”.

Kind Idaho submitted the IMMA before the new law went into effect, which allowed the campaign to qualify their initiative with signatures from 18 districts of the state, while The Idaho Way had to work under the new law and collect signatures from all 35 districts .

Reclaim Idaho, a campaign behind a voting initiative for Medicaid’s expansion, was sued for SB 1110 in May, and the Idaho Supreme Court ruled the new law unconstitutional on August 23 Idaho statesman report.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the law violates the public’s right to make laws outside the legislature and that both the legislature and the Secretary of State’s office “have failed to show an overriding state interest in restricting that right “It says in the news outlet reported.

Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way watched the case closely.

“If the decision is in favor of Reclaim and the law returns with the 18-district threshold, then we will push our PAMDA initiative forward,” said Russ Belville, a spokesman for The Idaho Way. told Cannabis business hours and Cannabis pharmacy earlier this month. “If it doesn’t work in our favor and we’re stuck with 35 districts, we will likely merge the PAMDA initiative and put all of our efforts into the IMMA medical initiative.”

Winters said Belville supported the Child Idaho campaign prior to launching the PAMDA initiative, and the two groups continue to work together as best they can.

“If we all work together, we can do it,” she said, adding that she is collecting signatures with Child Idaho volunteers. “I’m actually out there in my community to get signatures because it’s very important to Idaho and I want to be part of this changing of times and make history in Idaho.”