Idaho medical cannabis advocates say they have collected 100,000 signatures

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — Supporters of a proposed medical cannabis ballot initiative in Idaho said they have gathered more than 100,000 signatures and are making a final push in hopes of qualifying the proposal for November’s general election ballot by the April 30 deadline. 

A group called the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho is hoping to legalize medical cannabis as a treatment option for Idahoans with debilitating medical conditions like cancer, post traumatic stress disorder, AIDS, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease. 

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

Currently, all forms of cannabis are illegal in Idaho but recreational marijuana or medical cannabis are available in all of Idaho’s bordering states other than Wyoming. 

Supporters said they want to legalize medical cannabis to give people with serious medical conditions and chronic pain an alternative to opioid medications. 

“We’ve had hundreds of people email us about how they’re suffering with PTSD or they’re suffering with epilepsy and they’re driving across the border and illegally buying gummies because they would like some dignity in their care, in their state, but they can’t get it, and they’re still accessing these things because they’re right there and available,” said Amanda Watson, a Boise-based spokeswoman for the initiative. “This framework would allow for really strong regulation, restricted access and it’s a medical program.”

Opposition is being led by the Republican-controlled Idaho Legislature, which is pushing a competing marijuana measure on November’s ballot and is calling for voters to reject the medical cannabis ballot initiative. 

“The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act lacks safeguards to such an extent that it would effectively legalize widespread recreational use of marijuana,” Idaho legislators warned in a resolution adopted earlier this month. 

Who is behind the Idaho medical cannabis ballot initiative?

Rob Cronin, a Sun Valley businessman who has opened several restaurants in Idaho and across the country, serves as the chairperson and treasurer for the Natural Medicine Alliance PAC. 

In an interview last week, Cronin said his experience as a cancer survivor and his friendship with the late Dr. Dori Tunney, a physician and philanthropist, inspired him to help push the medical cannabis ballot initiative. 

Tunnery was diagnosed with glioblastoma and treated her pain with opioids that brought on severe side effects, curbed her appetite and led to a severe physical decline, Cronin and Watson said. 

During treatment in California, where cannabis is legal, Tunney tried a medical cannabis gummy and Cronin and Watson said her appetite and sleep returned to normal and her pain decreased.

Cronin and Watson said Tunney began advocating for legalizing medical cannabis in Idaho in 2022, a push that continued until her death in 2024. 

Cronin said he also had severe side effects when he used opioid medications after surgery from his cancer treatment. Cronin said he weighs 175 today, but his weight dropped to 119 due to nausea, loss of appetite and loss of sleep caused by opioids. 

“The pain was just outrageous and I was hammering Vicodin like it was going out of style,” Cronin said. “I can tell you firsthand that I would have chosen a cannabis alternative to opioids all day long, because the opioid puts you on that funky roller coaster of, ‘Oh, I feel better. Oh, I’m depressed, and my life sucks. Oww, now I’m in pain. another opioid. Oh, I’m depressed again and my life sucks.’ It really messes with your head.”

Cronin and Watson said they met each other while volunteering with Tunney to support cancer patients in Idaho. Cronin and Watson said they are supporting the measure in order to try to finish the job for Tunney before the Idaho Legislature can attempt to further restrict voters’ ability to legalize medical cannabis in Idaho. 

Watson said most of the funding for the initiative comes from an investment from Double Springs Ranch, which Tunney and her husband owned. The ranch is located in central Idaho and produces hemp and hemp fiber and raises Black Angus cattle. 

What is a ballot initiative and what will it take to get medical cannabis on the November ballot?

In Idaho, a ballot initiative is a form of direct democracy where the voters of Idaho – not the Idaho Legislature – vote on whether to pass a proposed law. 

Organizers say they are bringing the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act to voters as a ballot initiative because the Idaho Legislature has not taken action to legalize medical cannabis.

All of Idaho’s neighboring states other than Wyoming offer either medical cannabis, like Utah, or recreational marijuana, like Washington, Oregon, Montana and Nevada. 

In order to qualify for the November general election, organizers need to collect signatures from 6% of registered voters statewide, which is 70,725 valid signatures. On top of that raw total, organizers also need to collect signatures from 6% of registered voters in at least 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. 

The deadline to submit signatures to the state for verification is April 30. 

“I would say we are cautiously optimistic,” Watson said Friday. “We are collecting thousands of signatures a day at this point to make sure that we get over that threshold in each legislative district. There’s some rural parts of Idaho that we’re working really hard to hit that 6% in. Right now, we’ve collected over 100,000 raw signatures.”

The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho is using paid signature-gatherers in an effort to meet the requirements to qualify the initiative for the election. The alliance pays $25 per hour plus incentives, Watson said. 

If the initiative qualifies for November’s general election, it would take a simple majority of votes to approve it. 

Why does the Idaho Legislature oppose cannabis?

If the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act qualifies for the ballot, there would be competing marijuana-related questions on the November ballot. 

The Idaho Legislature has already come out in opposition to medical cannabis and placed a proposed amendment to the Idaho Constitution known as House Joint Resolution 4 on the November ballot. If approved by a majority of voters, House Joint Resolution 4 would make it so that only the Idaho Legislature, not voters, could legalize marijana or other narcotics.

“Too many legislatures across this nation have sat back and just waited as initiative after initiative would come after them, until they finally overwhelm it and overwhelm the legislature,” state Sen. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, said last year. “We are acting because that’s our responsibility.”

During the 2025 legislative session, the Idaho Legislature and Gov. Brad Little passed a law that creates a mandatory minimum fine of $300 for anyone convicted of simple marijuana possession, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

This year, the Idaho Legislature also adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 127, which encourages Idaho voters to reject the medical cannabis ballot initiative.  

In the resolution, legislators warn that legalization of marijuana and medical cannabis has created problems for other states and would increase the budget and costs for the Idaho Department of Health Welfare at a time when state revenues are uncertain.

Idaho legislators also allege that the requirements to obtain a medical cannabis card would be so loose that almost anyone would be able to get one. 

“The 18 medical conditions that qualify one to obtain a medical cannabis card, including insomnia, anxiety, and acute pain, are so broad that almost anyone could qualify,” Idaho legislators wrote.

On Thursday, officials with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office said 10,232 signatures have been submitted so far, and the office has marked 4,698 of those signatures as valid.