Idaho amendment giving state Legislature sole power to regulate drugs fails

Idaho voters rejected a proposed amendment to the Idaho Constitution that would have taken away Idahoans’ rights to legalize marijuana or other drugs, according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press called the race at 10:39 p.m. Mountain time Tuesday.

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House Joint Resolution 4, or HJR4, would have made it so that only the Idaho Legislature has the authority to legalize any drug or psychoactive substance – including medical or recreational marijuana.  

Passing HJR 4 would have removed the authority for Idahoans to run a ballot initiative to legalize medical or recreational drugs. 

Voters in Idaho’s neighboring states of Washington, Oregon, Montana and Nevada used the ballot initiative process to legalize marijuana in their states. 

In Idaho, a ballot initiative is a form of direct democracy where the voters of Idaho decide whether to pass a proposed law.

As of 11:15 p.m. Mountain time Tuesday, 282,542 voters or 67.2%, voted against HJR 4. Meanwhile 138,068 voters, or 32.8%, voted for HJR4. 

Republicans in the Idaho Legislature passed HJR 4 and sent it onto voters, saying they didn’t want out-of-state interest groups spending big and “deceiving” Idaho voters into approving marijuana. 

But David Adler, president of the nonprofit Alturas Institute in Idaho Falls, said passing HJR4 would have meant voters would voluntarily giving up their own rights and freedoms. Adler has taught courses on government and the Constitution at all three of Idaho’s public universities. 

Election officials were still counting ballots late into the night Tuesday. Idaho’s election results do not become official until they are certified by the Idaho State Board of Canvassers, which meets Nov. 24.

All forms of marijuana and cannabis are illegal in Idaho and remain illegal. 

With voters rejecting HJR 4 voters will retain their power to run a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana during a future election. 

The most recent effort to qualify a ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis in Idaho failed earlier in 2026 after organizers failed to meet the signature gathering requirements necessary to qualify for an election.