Event offering education on marijuana coming to Idaho Falls on Saturday
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IDAHO FALLS—Local organizers for a grassroots coalition will hold an event to educate community members on a substance that’s illegal in Idaho—and only four other states.
The organizers of the Idaho Falls chapter of Legalize Idaho have scheduled an educational open house on cannabis, commonly referred to as marijuana, for Saturday. This stop of the Educate & Legalize Idaho Tour, which they described as an informal open house, will start at 1 p.m. and end at 5 p.m. at the Heart Event Center at 755 South Capital Avenue.
“We are working on promoting education, raising awareness and creating discussion in our local communities about all aspects of cannabis, and this is an opportunity for people to come down and just learn something new,” said Serra Frank, community director of Legalize Idaho.
The Idaho Falls branch of Legalize Idaho was formed this spring, with its first event being a rally in the city’s downtown, attended by six people at its peak. Courtney Anderson, the chapter’s primary organizer, has kept at it by organizing meet-and-greet events on the second Saturday of every month, recruiting volunteers, gathering signatures for the Kind Idaho petition, registering people to vote. In addition to this upcoming open house, Anderson is also preparing for another rally and meet-and-greet on October 11.
“And I get a couple more people each time,” Anderson said.
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Anderson said she sees more support online for marijuana legalization, and she feels there’s a reason for that.
“Because Idaho has been like (this) for a very long time and many people are scared,” Anderson said.
For the organizers, the aim of this open house is to combat that fear, as well as the stigma surrounding it, with education.
“Yeah, unfairly, and they shouldn’t be afraid to show the support, because that’s the only way that it’s gonna happen, really, is if we show them that they are not speaking for us as Idahoans.
“We have nearly 100 educational displays that we set up every year … and it’s covers all aspects of cannabis, from the 10,000 year history to prohibition and legalization, the medical aspects, industrial hemp, religious aspects and just pretty much everything possible that you can think of when it comes to cannabis and relates to cannabis,”
A pressing issue that Anderson plans to speak on is the Grant Legislature Exclusive Authority and Prohibit Citizen-Initiated Measures on Marijuana, Narcotics, and Psychoactive Substances Amendment, otherwise known as Idaho HJR 4. This bill, set to be voted on in the 2026 mid-term elections, would prohibit any citizen initiative regarding marijuana from making it onto the ballot.
This is an issue Anderson has been talking about, and raising as much awareness to as possible.
“If nothing else, we deserve to have a say,” Anderson said. “Let’s vote on it. Let us decide and show you how many of us do support it.”