Idaho Senate Approves Measure To Ban Cannabis Legalization Initiatives

The Idaho Senate this week approved a joint resolution to deny voters the authority to legalize cannabis through a statewide ballot initiative. Tuesday’s passage of HJR 4 came one week after the Idaho House of Representatives approved the measure, which will ask voters in the 2026 election if the state’s constitution should be amended to prohibit ballot initiatives to legalize cannabis and other drugs.

Idaho’s voters will be asked to decide on the ballot question reading “Shall Section 26, Article III of the Constitution of the State of Idaho be amended to provide that only the Idaho Legislature shall have power and authority to legalize the growing, producing, manufacturing, transporting, selling, delivering, dispensing, administering, prescribing, distributing, possessing, or using of marijuana, narcotics, or other psychoactive substances?”

If a majority of voters in the 2026 election vote “yes” on the ballot question, the Idaho Constitution will be amended. If most voters decide against the proposal, Idaho’s voters will retain the authority to legalize cannabis and other drugs through a statewide ballot measure.

Republican state Sen. Scott Grow, a co-sponsor of HJR4, said that the constitutional amendment to block cannabis legalization initiatives is a way to be tough on marijuana. He also believes the amendment, if passed, can set Idaho apart from neighboring states that have legalized cannabis for recreational or medical use.

“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,” Grow said, according to a report from the Idaho Capital Sun. “We are acting because that’s our responsibility.”