There may not be a border that separates two more wildly disparate states than we have right here in the Inland Northwest between Washington and Idaho.
The Idaho Legislature is [insert sarcasm font] a serious governing body.
When they aren't debating or even outright rolling back basic human rights, the Idaho legislators find time to take up such pressing issues as cannibalism (advanced in committee), taking over much of neighboring Oregon (passed by the House) and making possession of cannabis punishable by a $420 fine.
To be fair, at least with that last item, they do have a sense of humor. Actually, they almost had a sense of humor, because that proposal for a $420 fine died in committee last week.
And they think people who get stoned are crazy.
Anyway, now is as good a time as any to take a look at how the Gem State approaches cannabis.
First off, Idaho tries not to approach cannabis. Cannabis is illegal in Idaho. Full stop.
And that's despite being literally surrounded by jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis. Washington, Montana, Oregon, Nevada and British Columbia all allow recreational use. Utah allows medical use. Even Wyoming, which is almost as tough about cannabis as Idaho, lets people consume CBD products with low amounts of THC.
Yet Idaho remains stalwartly anti-cannabis — or at least its Legislature does. Gem State lawmakers have repeatedly refused to pass pro-cannabis legislation. They haven't stopped there.
In 2021 they outlawed cannabis completely, and forever. (There's that sense of humor again.)
Since then, bordering states like Oregon and Washington have taken a ton of Idaho's money.
Specifically, Washington has taken a lot of tax dollars from Idaho, as we've reported more than once. And, according to reporting in Politico, the little border town of Ontario, Oregon, generates 10 percent of all of Oregon's cannabis sales — thanks to all those "anti-weed" Idahoans making the trip. That's about $130 million. In Ontario, a town of 11,000 people.
Oregon won't turn its back on all that money. Nor will Washington, Canada, Montana or even Utah. For now, it's just the lawmakers in Idaho who don't want that money, even if their constituents are willing to spend it.
Instead, legislators are spending time discussing whether a $420 fine is appropriate for possessing cannabis. That's a joke, but Idaho has proven willing to give time to consider it. ♦
