‘What are we doing?’: Idaho bill to impose minimum marijuana fines heads for House vote

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — If an Idaho bill becomes law, the minimum fine for possessing even a small amount of marijuana will be higher than almost any other misdemeanor in the state, including a number of violent crimes, such as assault, battery, domestic violence and attempted strangulation.

Sentencing guidelines for most misdemeanors in Idaho give judges latitude to fine defendants up to $1,000, but also impose no financial penalty at all. In addition, a jail term of up to a year is at a judge’s discretion.

Under Idaho law, all marijuana use remains illegal. Possessing up to 3 ounces of cannabis is a misdemeanor, and over that amount is a felony, punishable by as much as $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison.

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But Idaho House lawmakers will soon vote on the proposal to implement a marijuana possession fine of no less than $300 for a misdemeanor.

“This would largely stand as the sole misdemeanor” with such a penalty, Monica Gray, a public defender in Ada County, told a House committee that reviewed the bill Wednesday. Lawmakers last year approved a bill that made the crime of overtaking a school bus — if done twice — punishable by a minimum fine of $600.

The prospect of requiring harsher penalties for pot possession than most violent crimes gave some Republicans pause at the wide-ranging hearing, which lasted for more than two hours.

“Do we have a problem of moral equivalency if we head down the path of this legislation?” said Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, who initially opposed the bill.

Others worried that the minimum strips discretion away from judges, who have more insight into the particulars of the defendants before them.

“If we don’t trust our judges, what are we doing?” said Rep. Heather Scott , R-Blanchard, who also initially opposed the bill. “It’s really nice and easy to just set up a cookie-cutter sentence. … But people don’t fit into cookie-cutter situations.”

The unease among some Republicans resulted in the committee narrowly advancing the bill, which sent it to the House floor. Ehardt and Scott later voted to advance the bill after killing it failed. Most Republicans on the committee supported the proposal after hearing testimony in support from members of law enforcement and the Idaho GOP. The committee’s three Democrats, including House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, voted against it.

“Is using drugs bad? Sure,” said Rubel, D-Boise. “Is it worse than strangulation? … Absolutely not.”

About half of U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana, and nearly all states allow some medicinal use. Penalties for possessing small amounts of cannabis in states where it remains illegal range from smaller fines to those similar to the current misdemeanor penalty in Idaho.

Marijuana a ‘gateway’ drug, say lawmakers

Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, said they brought the bill because “we do not want this to become a marijuana state.”

When Skaug introduced it last week, he pointed to an instance where an Idaho judge fined a defendant $2.50 for marijuana possession.

At Wednesday’s hearing, a member of the public submitted a March 2024 news clipping from the Signal American newspaper in Weiser, which reported a defendant was fined $2.50 for marijuana possession — along with two days in jail, a year of probation, 100 hours of community service and $454.50 in court costs.

“That is very, very serious punishment for possession of marijuana,” Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, told the committee.

Gray, the public defender, said that court fees, mandatory community service, the cost of drug treatment programs and other fees are typically included along with any mandatory minimum cash penalties. Altogether, those costs to defendants could elevate by several hundred dollars. When defendants can’t pay court-imposed fines, judges can sentence them to jail.

The committee also heard testimony from people with chronic illnesses who would like to use marijuana to manage their pain.

Jeremy Kitzhaber, who identified himself as a military veteran, said he developed an incurable form of cancer connected to his service. He told lawmakers that his doctors tell him cannabis would help him. Because it is illegal in Idaho, Kitzhaber said he instead takes three different opioids that have serious side effects.

Kitzhaber’s testimony, along with that of a woman who said she suffers from injuries stemming from a decades-old car accident and uses cannabis for pain relief, prompted some lawmakers to question the state’s ban on medicinal marijuana. Past attempts by citizens to bring forward a ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana have failed.

“Maybe that is a conversation that this body should have,” Redman told the committee. “That’s not what this bill does. This bill simply sets a minimum fine.”

Several law enforcement officials testified in favor of the bill, arguing that the fines act as a deterrent against crime. Academic research, including out of the University of California, Berkeley, has shown limited deterrence effects of mandatory minimum sentences.

Republican lawmakers also focused Wednesday on marijuana as a “gateway” drug to more serious substances, claiming it can lead to fentanyl use.

Rep. Clint Hostetler, R-Twin Falls, said marijuana “opens the door” to other crimes, including theft and murder.

Other lawmakers fixated on the price of marijuana, arguing that people who can afford to purchase drugs should be able to pay the proposed penalty. Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood, said he did a Google search for the cost of an ounce of marijuana and found it was $244 — approaching the amount of the new fine if the bill becomes law.

An ounce is generally considered a large amount of marijuana for personal use, and is often the limit that someone can possess in states where the drug is legal. From that amount, users can roll roughly 28 joints, according to Business Insider. Much smaller of amounts of cannabis can be purchased at dispensaries in the majority of Idaho’s surrounding states.