CAPITOL β Idaho faces a marijuana ballot battle as federal reclassification shifts the debate.
President Trump has reclassified marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, moving it from the same category as heroin to the category of Tylenol with codeine.
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However, the drug remains illegal and faces a major collision at the Idaho ballot box this November.
WATCH: Mounting legislative battle on marijuana
While a citizen-led initiative could legalize medical marijuana in Idaho, a proposed constitutional amendment from the statehouse could make voters' choices irrelevant.
The Legislature and the people of Idaho are battling over legalizing medical marijuana.
Amanda Watson, spokesperson for the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho, said her group is collecting signatures for an initiative that would legalize medical marijuana only.
"We are doing some polling right now and there is strong indications that there is very strong support in the conservative space for this across the state," Watson said.
Watson said their proposal is restrictive compared to previous attempts.
"Ours is a very, very restrictive law," Watson said. "It's not like some of the ones that we've seen before, so we're hoping that it covers kind of the concerns of the GOP, and then we also can treat people who've been struggling, you know."
In recent years, multiple attempts to legalize marijuana by a group called KIND Idaho failed. They're ending their efforts and joining forces with the Alliance, which has greater resources.
Joe Evans from KIND Idaho said this represents a more serious effort than previous campaigns.
"So this is very hardcore push, you know, we have people that are paid, they're making a living, you know, collecting these signatures, and that's something that we at Kind Idaho have never been able to do," Evans said.
The Republican-dominated legislature has always opposed any legalization of marijuana. However, GOP chair Dorothy Moon seems less opposed when it comes to medical marijuana.
When asked if there's a campaign to stop the initiative, Moon said no.
"It's kind of between the family and the medical provider,"Moon said. "If people, you know, see that they need something to address a certain illness, then they have the right to try."
Republicans in the legislature appear to disagree. On a party-line vote, they put HJR4 on the ballot β a constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, gives the legislature sole authority to legalize marijuana or other illicit drugs.
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Senate Republicans said in a March 14 press release that elected officials are "best equipped" to make those decisions.
If that amendment passes, the legislature's will would supersede any citizen initiative regarding medical marijuana legalization.
Even if HJR4 fails and voters approve medical marijuana, the legislature still has the power to overturn the people's vote.
Moon acknowledged that high voter support could influence legislative action.
"If the vote comes in at a 70% on any of these initiatives, I think the legislature would be very apprehensive to try to override it," Moon said.
Recent polling by GS Strategy Group in late October found 83% of likely voters statewide support legal access to medical cannabis, including 74% of Republicans.
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