Idaho, a largely conservative state stands surrounded by many states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal and recreational use.
Roger Lanier, operations division commander with the Moscow Police Department, said regulation of marijuana in Idaho has not become more complicated since its legalization in Washington. He said there is a misconception regarding legal purchases coming into Idaho. It is still illegal to possess and consume marijuana in Idaho, even if it was purchased legally in Washington.
“We address marijuana exactly the same as we did before,” said Lanier.
Arlene Falcon, Moscow resident since 1999, was a vendor at HempFest before taking over the event in 2006.
She said she thinks until there is a change in legislation, there will be no change regarding marijuana in the state.
“We are very frustrated here in Idaho, because we have absolutely no laws in favor of decriminalization or legalization at all and it feels like nothing will change in Idaho until it changes federally,” Falcon said. “In Idaho, we would be happy with anything, even just recognizing medical marijuana as a viable alternative to opioids.”
During the Great Depression, the lack of jobs and the social turbulence in the U.S. at the time created the criminalization of the plant, according to PBS.
The combination of the feelings of unrest associated with the Great Depression and America’s institutionalized fear of immigrants, made cannabis officially made illegal in 1937.
Towards the 1970s tension regarding drugs and the “hippie” movement prompted the “War on Drugs”. The Nixon administration put the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 into place. This listed marijuana as a Schedule I drug. Schedule I drugs are listed as having no use medicinally and a very high potential use of abuse and addiction.
The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Use (also known as the Schafer Commission) released a report called “Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding” about the reality of marijuana consumption. The report called for partial prohibition and lower penalties for small possessions, but the findings were ignored by the Nixon administration.
Jim Boland, a member of Moscow’s city council, believes that marijuana should be legal for economic reasons. He said there is no reason for the drug, either recreational or medicinal, to be illegal and like prohibition, marijuana is available to those who seek it.
Boland, a longtime proponent for legalization, said many in the state and federal government simply do not understand the intricacies of the subject.
“I do not think in this area, public perception (of Washington’s recreational legalization) has changed all that much,” said Boland. “We have had legalized marijuana 100 feet from the outskirts of town and there has been no increase in the amount of problems with people driving under the influence or criminal activity in regards to that.”
According to 502data.com, the state of Washington generated $261,728,841 in sales tax revenue and $724,021,302 in marijuana tax revenue. Over 60 percent of Washington’s marijuana tax revenue is slated to go toward public health and safety programs over the next two years, according to thenewstribune.com.
Regardless of any negative associations with marijuana, California became the first state to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana in the U.S. in 1996. Twenty-nine states have legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal uses and nine states have legalized recreational use.
With Moscow being in such proximity to Pullman there are many opinions on whether Idaho should legalize the use of marijuana medicinally or recreationally. Daniel Stahn, a former UI student, grew up in Idaho Falls as a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. He said his assumptions about marijuana came from the negative stigma it had in his community. Once he came to UI, he started to expand his view and do more research on the subject.
“My view point is that I think marijuana should be legal because there are a lot less detrimental effects from marijuana than there are with cigarettes,” he said. “I know that Moscow is a bit different than the rest of the state,” said Stahn.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected].