Idaho lawmakers have been mulling a constitutional amendment that would stiffen the laws against drugs. The proposed Idaho anti-drug amendment would also prevent a future consensus through the ballot to legalize a drug like marijuana. On Thursday, March 11, a number of individuals testified in favor of the amendment. The House Committee has now approved the amendment to move to the House.
The amendment has been brought forward by conservative lawmakers who are concerned that drugs like marijuana may be legalized in the state of Idaho. These concerns are very real. A number of neighboring states have already initiated measures to legalize marijuana. There is also popular support among a majority of Idahoans for the legalization of marijuana.
The present amendment has yet to jump through many hoops before it can result in any actual laws. After the approval of the House Committee, the amendment is now headed to the Idaho House and Senate.
The Idaho anti-drug amendment next needs at least two-thirds of votes from the House and the Senate. After it can garner these votes, it will be put to the voters in 2022.
If the amendment gets through all these stages and is finally adopted, it will make changes directly to the state constitution. One notable change in this regard would be about any litigation meant to legalize marijuana or any other drugs. As per this amendment, attempts like this will need two-thirds of approval from both the Senate and the House.
This isn’t the first time Idaho lawmakers have attempted to take measures that would make it harder to legalize marijuana and other drugs. However, lawmakers on the other side of the fence are also trying to garner the support of the House and the Senate in a bid to legalize marijuana in Idaho. A bill to this effect was presented in the parliament nearly a month ago.
For more information, contact our Idaho drug crimes lawyers.
Source: https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/idaho-house-committee-green-lights-anti-drug-constitutional-amendment#stream/0