VOTE NO: On medical marijuana initiative

Frequently, transplants to Idaho are met with disdain or suspicion. Instead, I suggest viewing transplants as escapees from a sinking ship, burning building or tsunami tidal wave. 

If you can do this and see a transplant desperately sounding the alarm for North Idaho to steer away from the iceberg, then please hear this: 

“Medical” or “recreational” marijuana will destroy Idaho. Our values, way of life, emotional and mental health and wellbeing will be dramatically compromised in a manner we will never recover from. 

Study after study shows the negative impacts of marijuana on a culture. Some will say, “It’s only for medicinal purposes.” Hogwash! It is the slippery slope that leads to the legalization of drugs and the destruction of a society. 

Facts that cannot be ignored regarding marijuana use:

• Decline of brain and emotional health

• Increase in lack of motivation and laziness 

• Gateway drug 

• Increased crime 

• Increase in all types of accidents 

• Increase in deaths

Does Idaho really want to embrace the drug problems of Washington, Oregon and California? What started in those states as the legalization of “medical marijuana” devolved into legalization for all. Do we really want our tax dollars paying for rehab programs, more prisons and more law enforcement?

Remember, passage of this initiative will start the legalization of all marijuana. The following is from AI: “As of April 2026, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana, and nearly all of them first authorized medical marijuana, except for Vermont. These states moved from medical-only to adult-use, reflecting a common trend of broadening access.”

Vote no on the initiative to legalize medical marijuana on Idaho’s November ballot.

LYNDA CROSS

Hayden