Idaho Medical Marijuana Act – Petitioner’s Guide

Updated: September 17, 2019

Collecting Signatures
1. PETITIONER REQUIREMENTS: You must be an Idaho resident age 18 or older1.
a. You must be physically present as voters sign your petition.
b. You must have a complete copy of the petition stapled on top of each signature
sheet, which you must point out to the signers and allow them to read.
2. PRINTING THE PETITION:
a. Download the petition from rad-r.us/imma.
b. Save the file to a thumb drive or the cloud for a print shop2 OR print it yourself.
c. Print the file in black & white on white legal (8½” x 14”) paper.
d. Print in black-and-white3 and (if possible) set printout to “Duplex – Flip on Short
Side” (but if you can only print on one side, that’s OK)4.
e. Staple the petition on the top left corner (so it can be “flipped up”).
f. Remember: there must be a separate copy for each county’s signers5.
g. In the top right corner of the petition cover page, write the county name6.
h. If you have 4” square Post-It Notes:
Put a Post-It Note over the Notarization section, with the PETITIONER’S
NAME and COUNTY, and another blank Post-It Note for TODAY’S DATE.
i. DO NOT SIGN the Notarization section.
3. SIGNING THE PETITION:
a. Ask: “Would you like to sign the petition to put medical marijuana on the ballot?”7
b. Ask: “Are you a currently-registered Idaho voter?” – if not or unsure, check voter
registration at rad-r.us/immareg8. Register them online at rad-r.us/immavote.
c. Ask: “In which county are you registered?” – MAKE SURE THE VOTER SIGNS ONLY
THE CORRECT PETITION FOR HIS/HER COUNTY – BLACK INK ONLY!
d. Ensure the voter signs, prints their name, address (city and state not necessary,
but OK if entered), zip code, & date legibly.9 Help guide them as they fill it out.
e. DO NOT ALLOW WRITING OUTSIDE THE PETITION SIGNATURE BLOCKS.
f. See other side of this page for guidelines, examples, and fixing mistakes.
4. TURNING IN THE PETITION:
a. If you have access to a Notary Public, go to them, remove any Post-It Notes, fill
out the Notarization section and have them notarize your petition10.
b. If you do not have access to a Notary Public, call 844-IDAHO-20 and we will direct
you to a team leader who can help with getting the notarization.
c. Take or mail your notarized petition to your local County Lieutenant, who will
take care of getting it to the county clerk (we don’t want many people flooding
these clerks’ offices).

1
And, oddly enough, you do not have to be a registered Idaho voter to collect signatures of registered Idaho voters.
2
A FedEx Office, Staples, Office Depot, or similar shop has online print services to do all this for you or self-serve printers that can
access the internet for your Dropbox, Google Drive, or other cloud-based storage, or access your personal USB thumb drive.
3
Standard printing costs at most office stores will run about $1.30 per petition.
4
Ask for help finding these settings if you need to – it really makes a difference to have as few sheets per petition as possible.
5
For example, a recent petition drive at the Boise Farmer’s Market got signatures from residents of Ada, Blaine, Boise, Bonneville,
Canyon, Elmore, Latah, Payette, Twin Falls, and Valley Counties.
6
You may use colored markers and/or highlighters to make the different counties easier to distinguish.
7
If they do not wish to sign, do not waste your time trying to convince them. Thank them and move on to the next person.
8
If you have no mobile internet access, you may register someone on paper with Form ERM-1, which you can download and print
from IdahoVotes.gov. However, you must turn in those paper forms to the county clerk before the close of business on the same
day the person signed the petition for their signature to count. Also, Idaho voter registrations are not processed within 24 days of
an election, so you will not be able to register during the periods of [Oct 12 – Nov 5], [Feb 15 – Mar 10], and [Apr 25 – May 1].
9
If you can’t read what the voter writes, neither can the county clerk, and the signature won’t count.
10
You don’t have to have the petition notarized on the same day you gather signatures (which can also be from multiple dates).
Help signers as they sign. Say, “The Secretary of State requests that you please print legibly, or it will not count. They
need your legal signature, the one you used when you registered to vote, in the first column, and printed full legal name
in the second.” Then, as they are completing this information, say, “They also want your street address (no post office
box, city not necessary) and ZIP Code. Write out your address even if it is the same as the one above it. No quote marks
or arrows. Then today’s date (which is mm/dd/yy).” Say that format, like “9/17/19” would be “9 slash 17 slash 19.”

Below are some examples of how a signature might be declared invalid by a county clerk. Everybody must write inside
the form. Don’t scribble out mistakes, draw a single line through them and start a new signature on the next line.

Here’s how a petition

Isn’t necessary to CANYON with 20 signatures can
add city, but OK turn into only 2 valid
Single Staple signatures – mistakes
Petition County
listed NO in red ink,
good sigs are OK.

John Byron Belville John Byron Belville 123 Main St. 83651 9/17/19 OK PERFERCT SIGNATURE
John Worfin Johnathan T. Worfin 456 Elm St. 83605 9/17/19 NO What’s his legal name?
John Bigboote John Bigboote 83686 9/17/19 NO No Address.
John Smallberries John Smallberries 101 Dew St., Nampa 83651 9/17/19 NO Signed in wrong box.
John O’Connor John O’Connor 111 Fir St. 83676 9/17/20 19 NO Scribbled out mistake.
John Littlejohn John Littlejohn 333 Park Ave, Boise 83702 9/17/19 NO Not from CANYON Cty
John Many Jars John Many Jars 444 5th St 83651 NO Blank date.
John Coyote John Coyote 555 Riverside, Notus 83656 9/17/18 NO Wrong date.
John Coyote, Jr. John Coyote, Jr. “ “ “ 9/17/19 NO Must write address.
John Nephew John Nephew Huston 83607 9/17/19 NO No address.
John Ya Ya John Ya Ya Parma NO Line through mistake…
John Ya Ya John Ya Ya 222 Yew St., Parma 83660 9/17/19 OK …and start a new line.
John Thorny Stick John Thorny Stick 123 Boss St. 83644 9/17/19 NO Wrote in gray column
John Cooper John Cooper 123 Main St., Nampa 83651 9/17/19 NO Illegible.
John Grim John Grim 777 Fat Boy Ave. 83660 9/17/19 NO Blue ink.
J. Mud Head John Mud Head 888 Food St. 83626 9/17/19 NO What’s his legal name?
John Parrot 234 Beatles Blvd. 83651 9/17/19 NO Blank Printed Name.
John Parrot, Jr. John Parrot, Jr. 9/17/19 NO Must write address…
John Parrot III John Parrot III 9/17/19 NO …even if same as above.
John Fish John Fish PO Box 321, Nampa 83651 9/17/19 NO Need Street Address

CANYON TODAY IS
Post-It Notes placed
over the Notarization
section ensure that:

9/17/19
1) Nobody (including

John B you) writes in that

section until it’s time
to notarize the
petition.

2) It’s clear which

county the voters
should be signing.

3) We know which
petitioner got the
signatures.
Post-It with PETITION COUNTY & PETITIONER Post-It with TODAY’S DATE and scribbles
4) The voters will
enter the correct
FACEBOOK & TWITTER: @IdahoCann Phone: 844-IDAHO-20 (844-432-4620)
date when they sign.
DOWNLOAD PETITION: rad-r.us/imma REG I (Cd’Alene): Susan Martin Ext. 701
DOWNLOAD GUIDE: rad-r.us/immaguide REG II (Lewiston): Arlene Falcon Ext. 702 5) There’s space to
CHECK REGISTRATION: rad-r.us/immareg REG III (Nampa): Jackie Belville Ext. 703 test a faulty pen out.
REGISTER VOTERS: rad-r.us/immavote REG IV (Boise): Bill Esbensen Ext. 704 Just make sure the
VOLUNTEER SIGNUP: rad-r.us/immaarmy REG V (Twin Falls): Caitlin Heiner Ext. 705 Post-Its don’t cover
REGIONS & COUNTIES: rad-r.us/immamap REG VI (Pocatello): David Lybolt Ext. 706 the title at the
EMAIL: idahocannabiscoalition@gmail.com REG VII (Id Falls): Nate Pickering Ext. 707 bottom of the page.
 Idaho Medical Marijuana Act – F.A.Q.
Updated: September 17, 2019
What’s this all about?
We’re gathering 55,057 signatures statewide to place
the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act on the November
2020 ballot. This act will protect sick and disabled
Idahoans who have a doctor’s recommendation to use
cannabis for medical purposes.
Who qualifies for medical marijuana?
People with certain debilitating medical conditions, like
cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, PTSD, epilepsy, MS,
Crohn’s disease, IBS, Alzheimer’s, ALS, glaucoma,
Huntington’s, Tourette syndrome, as well as any
condition producing severe or chronic pain, severe
nausea, seizures, muscle spasms, or any terminal illness.
How much marijuana would patients be
allowed to have?
Patients and their caregivers could possess up to four
ounces of marijuana.
Isn’t that a lot of marijuana?
Are 300 Oxycodone pills a lot of pills? It depends on the
patient’s needs. Many patients need more marijuana to
produce tinctures, oils, topicals, and edibles.
Where will patients get marijuana?
New laws will be created for a medical marijuana
program that includes licensed growers, processors,
testers, and retail dispensaries.
Is medical marijuana taxed?
Yes, at 4%, plus Idaho sales tax. Proceeds will first fund
the program, then be split 50/50 between Veterans
Services and the General Fund.
How would I open a licensed medical
marijuana business? What will it cost?
That is all yet to be determined by regulation.
Would patients grow their own?
No, unless they qualify for hardship cultivation
exemption – meaning they have a physical, financial, or
distance difficulty in acquiring marijuana at a dispensary
– in which case they or a caregiver may produce six
cannabis plants in an enclosed, locked facility.
If allowed to grow, can a patient
reimburse a caregiver?
Yes, a patient can reimburse a caregiver “for goods or
services provided in assisting with the registered
qualifying patient’s medical use of marijuana.”
Are out-of-state cards recognized?
Yes, but the state may decide to require some form of
registration for visiting out-of-state patients.
Can kids be patients?
Yes, with parental/guardian approval.
Can patients light up in public?
No, use of marijuana will still remain illegal in public, on
public transport, at schools, at daycares, and in any
correctional facility.
What about discrimination?
The initiative protects the rights of patients to housing,
medical care, employment, parental rights, and firearm
rights. Essentially, medical marijuana patients should be
treated like patients using any prescription
pharmaceutical drug.
Can localities ban medical marijuana?
No, localities may only enact “reasonable zoning…
regulations governing the time, place, and manner of
medical marijuana organization operations.”
Are there limits on dispensaries?
They may not be located within 1,000 feet of a school;
however, existing dispensaries may stay if a school
moves in later within 1,000 feet.
Won’t medical marijuana just lead to
recreational marijuana legalization?
Only one-third of the states with medical marijuana
programs have legalized adult-use marijuana. Legalizing
recreational marijuana would require passage of an
entirely separate law to allow that to happen.
What about stoned driving?
Driving under the influence of marijuana will still remain
a crime; however, patients will not be considered DUI
only if they test positive for inactive marijuana
metabolites or test so low for active marijuana that they
couldn’t possibly be considered impaired.
What about butane hash oil (BHO)?
It will remain a felony for anyone other than a licensed
processor to manufacture hash oil using any
combustible solvent (like butane). However, patients
will be able to make hash using ice water, glycerin,
propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or food grade ethanol.
What about workplace drug testing?
Marijuana will be treated like any prescription drug that
employers may test for. Workers may not work under
the influence of marijuana; however, patients will not
be considered under the influence if they test positive
for inactive marijuana metabolites or test so low for
active marijuana that they couldn’t possibly be
considered impaired.
I heard terrible things happen to a state
once it has medical marijuana, like…
In over two decades of medical marijuana in the United
States, none of “the sky is falling” predictions from
opponents have come true. Research actually shows a
reduction in teen marijuana use (American Journal of
Drug and Alcohol Abuse 2019), a decrease in traffic
fatalities (American Journal of Public Health 2016), and
fewer opioid prescriptions (Journal of the American
Medical Association 2018) in medical marijuana states
with laws like our initiative proposes.
In the past twenty-three years, not one of the thirty-
three medical marijuana states has repealed their law. If
these laws have such terrible effects, why does nobody
ever repeal them?
Isn’t today’s marijuana super-potent?
Yes, some marijuana today is “stronger,” in terms of
THC content, than it was back in the day. That is actually
a benefit for medical marijuana patients who then need
to consume less marijuana to achieve the same
medicinal effect.
It’s also irrelevant, in the sense that THC (and all of
marijuana) is non-toxic. Unlike alcohol, opioids, and
most prescription drugs, a patient can never ingest
enough to cause a fatal overdose. If a patient takes too
much of too-potent marijuana, it can make them
sleepy, paranoid, or uncomfortable, but in a couple of
hours those effects will wane, and the patient is fine.
I heard the people and organizations
behind IMMA are really just interested
in recreational legalization and medical
marijuana is just their “steppingstone.”
Logically, if someone believed that any adult should be
allowed to use marijuana, wouldn’t they have to believe
that some sick and disabled adults should be allowed to
use marijuana? It’s up to the people of Idaho to decide
these questions and all IMMA asks is to allow some sick
and disabled people to use marijuana.
There are 33 US states that have medical marijuana
programs. Eleven of those states now have legalization.
But just 13 medical marijuana states are so-called “red
states” like Idaho. Only 2 (Alaska, Michigan) have
legalized marijuana. The other 11 haven’t, and 3 of
those (Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio) actually voted
against legalization initiatives on their ballots.
I don’t know… I don’t want us to bring
marijuana to Idaho.
News flash: marijuana is already in Idaho. According to
the government’s National Survey on Drug Use &
Health, roughly 7% of the population of Idaho admits to
using marijuana on a monthly basis.
Under IMMA, the vulnerable sick and disabled Idahoans
with medical marijuana cards will spend their marijuana
money with legal Idaho medical marijuana
organizations, with a 4% tax benefitting veterans and
the state general fund.
Without IMMA, patients face misdemeanors or felonies,
fines and incarceration, and suffering the side effects of
their prescription pharmaceuticals they could replace
with medical marijuana products.
But won’t this put pot shops all over the
place, near residences, for instance?
No. Cities and counties will have the ability to regulate
the time, place, and manner that medical marijuana
organizations can operate. While IMMA only bars such
organizations from within 1,000 feet of schools, there’s
nothing stopping localities from restricting dispensaries
only to certain zoned areas.
Besides, medical marijuana dispensaries would be very
secure adults-only locations with security cameras and
clerks who vigorously check IDs. Studies show crime
actually decreases around dispensaries because of the
cameras and increased foot traffic.
Shouldn’t medicines come through the
standard FDA process, not a vote?
Sure, that would be great. But for over 80 years, the
federal government has classified marijuana as
Schedule I, which means it’s very difficult to study, most
studies are designed to find harms, not benefits, and it
can never go through the FDA approval process.
In the meantime, thousands of Idahoans are still treated
as criminals if they use the very same marijuana that
millions of patients in 33 states are using legally under
state law. Why should sick and disabled Idahoans be
made to suffer because they live in the wrong state?
Yeah, but nobody smokes a medicine…
Many medicines are inhaled – think of an asthma
inhaler or a nasal spray – because inhalation provides
instant onset of the medicine. You wouldn’t expect an
asthma patient to swallow a pill and wait 45 minutes for
it to digest and the medicine to open up their airways…
they’d suffocate and die by then!
Likewise, inhaling cannabis is for some patients the only
effective way for them to use the medicine. A chemo
patient puking from intense nausea can’t swallow and
keep down a pill and wait 45 minutes. But a puff on a
marijuana cigarette will bring them instant relief.
Won’t it be just like California where
you can just say you have a headache
and you get a card?
Not at all. Opponents always try this scare, using
California, one of only two medical marijuana states
(Oklahoma) where doctors can recommend medical
marijuana for any condition, as the scary example.
Under IMMA, a patient would have to gather
documentation of the diagnosis of their medical
condition, and not all conditions qualify (see other side),
have an Idaho doctor recommend they use medical
marijuana, fill out a form to join a state medical
database, and pay the state fee (probably $100), and
repeat that process every year.
Wouldn’t drug traffickers use the IMMA
as a cover for illegal activities?
How many criminals do you know who want their name,
address, and contact info on a state database accessible
to law enforcement 24-hours a day?
If anything, IMMA hurts drug traffickers by taking a
significant portion of their most regular customers from
them and putting them in state-regulated dispensaries
that check ID.
I want to help your campaign. What can
I do?
You can join us at Facebook at IdahoCann. We need
volunteers all across the state to gather petition
signatures, county by county, to place the Idaho
Medical Marijuana Initiative on the November ballot.
You can also donate financially or with in-kind support.
Call us at 844-IDAHO-20 (844-432-4620)
Email: IdahoCannabisCoalition@gmail.com.
Facebook & Twitter: @IdahoCann