Activists Begin Long Game After Voters Reject Anti-Weed Measures
Voters in Idaho and Massachusetts rejected ballot measures Tuesday which would have curtailed the marijuana industry.
Idaho’s House Joint Resolution 4, the “Grant Legislature Exclusive Authority and Prohibit Citizen-Initiated Measures on Marijuana, Narcotics and Psychoactive Substances Amendment”, would have removed citizens’ authority under the state constitution to create ballot measures dictating drug policies.
Supporters of HJR 4, including the Focus on the Family-allied Idaho Family Policy Center, argued the measure would stop out-of-state marijuana companies from pressuring Idahoans to legalize weed.
But citizens defeated HJR 4 on Tuesday in a clear 66.3% to 33.7% vote.
Massachusetts’ Question 8, an “Act to Restore Sensible Marijuana Policy,” was the first ballot measure in the country proposing to repeal recreational marijuana.
Citizens overwhelmingly voted to keep recreational weed legal, defeating the measure 75.6% to 24.4%.
The fate of Question 8 is disappointing, but not surprising. A statewide poll of 500 voters by Suffolk University and The Boston Globe found only 21% of surveyed voters planned to vote “yes” on Question 8. More than 70% planned to vote “no,” and 6% said they were undecided.
But all is not lost. In an encouraging statement Wednesday, Kevin Sabet, the president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action, reminded supporters to play the long game.
“The fact Massachusetts residents had this opportunity to vote on repealing marijuana sales is historic,” he wrote. “This vote was unthinkable just a few years ago.”
The power of persistence should not be underestimated. Ironically, Sabet noted, the marijuana industry played the long game remarkably well.
“The pro-legalization movement lost at the ballot box again and again before it ever won,” he wrote. After Nevada declined to legalize marijuana in 2002, the campaign director for the Marijuana Policy Project said:
Though this example may offer paradoxical inspiration to those trying to repeal marijuana, it also illustrates why the Idaho House and Senate passed HJR 4 earlier this year.
A citizen-led ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana has been proposed in every Idaho state election since 2012. In 2022, a measure to legalize the recreational use and sale of marijuana was also proposed.
For 15 years, no pro-marijuana proposal has ever garnered enough support to actually appear on the ballot. But can Idahoans hold the industry off indefinitely?
Organizations like SAM increase their chances by educating Americans about the physical and mental devastation marijuana causes.
“We are proud that during the course of this campaign millions of people were educated about the harms of the industry and its drugs,” Sabet wrote in his statement.
SAM Action contributed more than $3 million to support Question 8.
“We are proud that hundreds of thousands of people today said they have had enough. That number will only continue to grow.”
Often, “winning” is not the only, or even best, metric of success. Though HJR 4 and Question 8 did not become law, campaigns to support them educated Americans about the harms of consuming and legalizing marijuana and other hard drugs.
Hearts and minds must be changed for movements to begin. This is the first step — and a victory in and of itself.
Additional Articles and Resources
Massachusetts to Vote on Repealing Recreational Marijuana
Idaho Ballot Measure Would Lock Out Companies Looking to Legalize Weed
Senate Waffles on Banning Hemp-Derived THC
Recreational Marijuana Measures Rejected by Voters
Parents — Time to Tackle Marijuana Myths
THC-Laced Snacks Marketed to Kids, Hemp to Blame
Oregon Lawmakers Vote to Recriminalize Hard Drugs
