COEUR d'ALENE - A new group has formed in Coeur d'Alene to educate the public on the benefits of marijuana, and to eventually promote the legalization of the plant.

The Coeur d'Alene Cannabis Club has been meeting for about a month now, and decided this week to begin expanding its membership base.

The club, which now has 50 members, is being promoted by a longtime marijuana advocate, Orenda Peterson, who helped gather signatures for the last attempt to get a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in 2012.

That attempt failed and left Peterson homeless in the fallout.

"I became homeless because of my use of marijuana," she said. "I had Idaho Housing at the time, and someone turned me in and they kicked me out. You cannot have Idaho Housing if you use illegal drugs."

Her troubles compounded but she was eventually able to recover, and now she has a renewed spirit and is devoted to getting the drug legalized.

"I don't use marijuana anymore, because I don't need all the crap that comes with it, but I would like the option," she said. "I have dealt with a lot of bad and negative energy, but that is starting to change.

"I personally am not going to stop trying to legalize it."

In 2011, Peterson said, she ran the Moms for Marijuana chapter in North Idaho and assisted Compassionate Idaho with its initiative campaign.

And while another initiative campaign is being planned by a new group called New Approach Idaho, Peterson said that probably won't happen soon.

Until then, the Coeur d'Alene Cannabis Club is going to focus on public education and possibly a "hempfest" at some point.

"Once we get a petition going, then we will start registering people to vote," she said.

With 26 states that have some form of legal marijuana, and Idaho getting surrounded by states which have legalized it, Peterson believes that Idaho is going to have to deal with it sooner or later.

"We don't need laws that make people homeless, make them go hungry or take their kids away," she said. "I guess I am really just a human rights activist."

Peterson said people wanting to join the new club can contact her via Facebook.

"It is a private group page on Facebook," she said. "But I guess they could always send me a friend request on Facebook, and we can go from there."