Idahoans support buying, but not selling, medical marijuana

Idaho has a citizen’s initiative and a legislative proposal to legalize medical use of marijuana.  The latest Boise State University Public Policy Poll bodes well for the chances of turning Idaho green.

(Spokesman-Review) BOISE – The respected Boise State University Public Policy Survey, a statewide poll that’s been conducted in the state for more than 20 years, yielded a surprising result Tuesday: 74 percent support for allowing “terminally and seriously ill patients to use and purchase marijuana for medical purposes.”

Just 23 percent said “no” to that in the statewide survey, and 3 percent said they didn’t know.

State Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, who has pending legislation to legalize medical marijuana in Idaho in precisely those situations, said, “I’m not surprised at all, because in similar states out here in the West, the results are 65 to 75 percent (in favor), as long as you focus, like we have, very narrowly on medical marijuana for folks who are in excruciating pain with long-term diseases.”

Right, we wouldn’t want any people suffering merely agonizing pain to be smoking a joint.  But still, as an Idaho native, I’m pleased to see nearly three-out-of-four in the Gem State supporting not just use, but also purchase of cannabis for patients.  However, there is this finding…

It also asked how strongly Idahoans agreed that the state “should allow the sale and manufacture of marijuana for medical purposes.” Those results were less overwhelming, with 46 percent agreeing and 46 percent disagreeing.

…so 74% say it’s OK for patients to buy, but 46% say it’s OK for someone to grow and sell to them.  I’m not sure how Idaho intends to create a program where patients can buy medicine that nobody is allowed to grow, but judging by the model Rep. Trail is using for his legislation, I’m not optimistic.

Trail said those neighboring states all enacted their medical marijuana laws by initiative, and he said that’s why they’ve led to problems. He said by going through the legislative process with his bill, which is modeled after a similar, restrictive measure from New Jersey, Idaho can make sure sufficient controls are in place on the use of medical marijuana, which the bill would allow only by prescription for debilitating or terminal illnesses and only up to 2 ounces per patient every 28 days.

Trail said New Jersey and Maryland both enacted their medical marijuana laws through the Legislature, rather than by initiative. “They have far fewer problems – you never see them in the headlines,” he said.

You don’t hear about them because they don’t have functioning medical marijuana programs.  Maryland has an affirmative defense, which allows patients to go to trial and spend a lot of money on lawyer’s fees to tell the judge they are sick and shouldn’t be jailed.

New Jersey doesn’t allow patients to cultivate medicine, establishes just six dispensaries statewide, and is currently over one year since signing the legislation with no program in sight.  It’s all the legislature can do to reject proposals to restrict all plants to three strains of less than 10% THC and all edibles to lozenges only.

Rep. Trail’s HB 19 is certainly better than nothing.  Some Idahoans would be protected from arrest and allowed to legally alleviate their suffering.  But Idahoans can also do better by supporting the Idaho Medical Choice Act, the citizens’ initiative modeled off the successful programs in the functional medical marijuana states.  Visit Idaho NORML to get involved.