BOISE, Idaho — After two hours of testimony, a House committee voted to send to the floor a bill creating a mandatory minimum fine of $300 for possession of marijuana, less than 3 ounces.
The House Judiciary and Rules Committee on Wednesday voted 10-4 to send HB 7 to the full House for a full vote, after another motion to kill the bill failed narrowly in a 6-8 vote.
Two combat veterans with severe health issues from the group Kind Idaho — which advocates for the legalization of medical marijuana — spoke against the bill, saying that the use of cannabis helps manage their pain and symptoms without the use of addictive opioids. Other people with Kind Idaho also opposed it, as did criminal defense lawyers.
Members of law enforcement, the Idaho Republican Party, conservative think tank the Idaho Freedom Foundation and the Christian policy organization the Idaho Family Policy Center all supported the bill as a way to deter use of drugs.
Reps. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, and Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, sponsored the bill, which would not apply to minors under 18.
“I do not want to be in the state of Idaho, and we fail to penalize crimes that are illegal,” Redman said Wednesday. “Idaho is a state of law and order, and it’s been said, a law without consequences is simply a suggestion.”
In existing Idaho law, it is a felony to possess more than 3 ounces of marijuana, punishable by up to five years in prison, or up to a $10,000 fine, or both. Possession of less than 3 ounces is a misdemeanor crime with a fine up to $1,000 and no set minimum. Misdemeanor possession in which a judge orders probation as a sentence also comes with a required 100 hours of community service.
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