Supporters of a proposed medical cannabis ballot initiative in Idaho said they have gathered more than 100,000 signatures and are making a final push in hopes of qualifying the proposal for November’s general election ballot by the April 30 deadline.

A group called the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho is hoping to legalize medical cannabis as a treatment option for Idahoans with debilitating medical conditions like cancer, post traumatic stress disorder, AIDS, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease.

Under Idaho law, cannabis means the same thing as marijuana, and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Currently, all forms of cannabis are illegal in Idaho but recreational marijuana or medical cannabis are available in all of Idaho’s bordering states other than Wyoming.

Supporters said they want to legalize medical cannabis to give people with serious medical conditions and chronic pain an alternative to opioid medications.

“We’ve had hundreds of people email us about how they’re suffering with PTSD or they’re suffering with epilepsy and they’re driving across the border and illegally buying gummies because they would like some dignity in their care, in their state, but they can’t get it, and they’re still accessing these things because they’re right there and available,” said Amanda Watson, a Boise-based spokeswoman for the initiative. “This framework would allow for really strong regulation, restricted access and it’s a medical program.”

Opposition is being led by the Republican-controlled Idaho Legislature, which is pushing a competing marijuana measure on November’s ballot and is calling for voters to reject the medical cannabis ballot initiative.

“The Idaho Medical Cannabis Act lacks safeguards to such an extent that it would effectively legalize widespread recreational use of marijuana,” Idaho legislators warned in a resolution adopted earlier this month.

Who is behind the Idaho medical cannabis ballot initiative?

Rob Cronin, a Sun Valley businessman who has opened several restaurants in Idaho and across the country, serves as the chairperson and treasurer for the Natural Medicine Alliance PAC.

In an interview last week, Cronin said his experience as a cancer survivor and his friendship with the late Dr. Dori Tunney, a physician and philanthropist, inspired him to help push the medical cannabis ballot initiative.

Tunnery was diagnosed with glioblastoma and treated her pain with opioids that brought on severe side effects, curbed her appetite and led to a severe physical decline, Cronin and Watson said.

During treatment in California, where cannabis is legal, Tunney tried a medical cannabis gummy and Cronin and Watson said her appetite and sleep returned to normal and her pain decreased.

Cronin and Watson said Tunney began advocating for legalizing medical cannabis in Idaho in 2022, a push that continued until her death in 2024.

Cronin said he also had severe side effects when he used opioid medications after surgery from his cancer treatment. Cronin said he weighs 175 pounds today, but his weight dropped to 119 pounds due to nausea, loss of appetite and loss of sleep caused by opioids.

“The pain was just outrageous and I was hammering Vicodin like it was going out of style,” Cronin said. “I can tell you firsthand that I would have chosen a cannabis alternative to opioids all day long, because the opioid puts you on that funky roller coaster of, ‘Oh, I feel better. Oh, I’m depressed, and my life sucks. Oww, now I’m in pain. another opioid. Oh, I’m depressed again and my life sucks.’ It really messes with your head.”

Cronin and Watson said they met each other while volunteering with Tunney to support cancer patients in Idaho. Cronin and Watson said they are supporting the measure in order to try to finish the job for Tunney before the Idaho Legislature can attempt to further restrict voters’ ability to legalize medical cannabis in Idaho.

Watson said most of the funding for the initiative comes from an investment from Double Springs Ranch, which Tunney and her husband owned. The ranch is located in central Idaho and produces hemp and hemp fiber and raises Black Angus cattle.

What is a ballot initiative and what will it take to get medical cannabis on the November ballot?

In Idaho, a ballot initiative is a form of direct democracy where the voters of Idaho—not the Idaho Legislature—vote on whether to pass a proposed law.

Organizers say they are bringing the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act to voters as a ballot initiative because the Idaho Legislature has not taken action to legalize medical cannabis.

All of Idaho’s neighboring states other than Wyoming offer either medical cannabis, like Utah, or recreational marijuana, like Washington, Oregon, Montana and Nevada.

In order to qualify for the November general election, organizers need to collect signatures from 6 percent of registered voters statewide, which is 70,725 valid signatures. On top of that raw total, organizers also need to collect signatures from 6 percent of registered voters in at least 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts.

The deadline to submit signatures to the state for verification is April 30.

“I would say we are cautiously optimistic,” Watson said Friday. “We are collecting thousands of signatures a day at this point to make sure that we get over that threshold in each legislative district. There’s some rural parts of Idaho that we’re working really hard to hit that 6 percent in. Right now, we’ve collected over 100,000 raw signatures.”

The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho is using paid signature-gatherers in an effort to meet the requirements to qualify the initiative for the election. The alliance pays $25 per hour plus incentives, Watson said.

If the initiative qualifies for November’s general election, it would take a simple majority of votes to approve it.

Why does the Idaho Legislature oppose cannabis?

If the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act qualifies for the ballot, there would be competing marijuana-related questions on the November ballot.

The Idaho Legislature has already come out in opposition to medical cannabis and placed a proposed amendment to the Idaho Constitution known as House Joint Resolution 4 on the November ballot. If approved by a majority of voters, House Joint Resolution 4 would make it so that only the Idaho Legislature, not voters, could legalize marijuana or other narcotics.

“Too many legislatures across this nation have sat back and just waited as initiative after initiative would come after them, until they finally overwhelm it and overwhelm the legislature,” state Sen. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, said last year. “We are acting because that’s our responsibility.”

During the 2025 legislative session, the Idaho Legislature and Gov. Brad Little (R) passed a law that creates a mandatory minimum fine of $300 for anyone convicted of simple marijuana possession, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

This year, the Idaho Legislature also adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 127, which encourages Idaho voters to reject the medical cannabis ballot initiative.

In the resolution, legislators warn that legalization of marijuana and medical cannabis has created problems for other states and would increase the budget and costs for the Idaho Department of Health Welfare at a time when state revenues are uncertain.

Idaho legislators also allege that the requirements to obtain a medical cannabis card would be so loose that almost anyone would be able to get one.

“The 18 medical conditions that qualify one to obtain a medical cannabis card, including insomnia, anxiety, and acute pain, are so broad that almost anyone could qualify,” Idaho legislators wrote.

On Thursday, officials with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office said 10,232 signatures have been submitted so far, and the office has marked 4,698 of those signatures as valid.

How would the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act work?

Here are the basics of how the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act would work if it qualifies for the November election and a majority of Idaho voters pass the act.

• Idahoans would be able to apply for a renewable medical cannabis card by presenting medical records showing a substantial or terminal health condition, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, MS, post traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain.
• Meanwhile, the state would initially issue three medical cannabis production licenses across the state that would allow a licensee to grow, produce, distribute and sell medical cannabis to individuals with a valid Idaho medical cannabis card. When Idaho’s population increases by 650,000, additional production licenses could be issued – up to a total of six in the state. The application process for a production license requires a valid Idaho hemp license in good standing, submission of an operational plan, background checks and the use of a pharmacist for oversight.
• The act would allow each license holder to operate up to six retail locations, two facility locations, fulfillment centers, warehouses and distribution centers.
• For individuals with an Idaho medical cannabis card, online ordering, delivery and pickup at distribution centers would be allowed.
• Using medical cannabis in public and sharing medical cannabis with someone who does not have an Idaho medical cannabis card would be prohibited in Idaho under the act. It would also be illegal to drive, operate a boat, operate aircraft, operate heavy machinery or drive a train under the influence of medical cannabis.

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Over the past decade, cannabis has evolved from counterculture to commerce. Though in many ways, the public conversation still hasn’t caught up. With federal legalization still an uncertainty, the hurdles are heightened.

For brands navigating a complex, often stigmatized industry, visibility is a survival strategy. Media, education, and strategic storytelling can shape perception, influence policy, and drive real business outcomes.

Today, with more voices in the market than ever, thought leadership isn’t just for founders with name recognition. It is a critical tool for every cultivator, manufacturer, dispensary, and ancillary business ready to lead with purpose.

Thought leadership is also one of the most effective tools in the marketing arsenal. If leveraged correctly, a thought leadership campaign will propel your brand to the top of the awareness funnel and help it stay there in perpetuity.

So how do you execute a successful thought leadership campaign? Here’s a guide to get you started.

Lean in to your expertise

You started a company and now you want to increase your customer base and business pipeline. You also want current investors and stakeholders to feel good about their commitment to your company. What sets you apart? What is different about your brand than dozens of other competitors on the market? What is your story?

Once you firmly identify your assets and unique proposition points, write them down, include them in your bio and LinkedIn pages, share with your marketing teams, integrate them on your website and share them with your friends and community. You own your story. Leverage it to the hilt.

Write a series of bylines

Bylines are a great opportunity to position yourself as an expert and a strong extension of your company. Make a schedule of writing one every six weeks and shop it around to different outlets. They can also be posted on the company website and cross posted on LinkedIn, and even your own Substack. Bylines can’t be too self-serving or they won’t be accepted. Look for a balance of sharing knowledge, best practices and advice, and remember to keep the tone objective. Access to good data is limited in cannabis, so utilizing any proprietary or public data will help fuel these pieces as well. Aim for 600-800 words.

News Monitoring

If you are in this industry you are undoubtedly reading key news outlets, Substacks, newsletters, LinkedIn posts and magazines. What are the trends that you see being covered? What is your perspective on these topics? Start sharing your opinion. Have your marketing team reach out to the reporters covering these relevant issues and offer your commentary. Or better yet, reach out to the reporters and sites directly and engage with them. Own the narrative and use it to increase your brand profile.

Loving LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the primary platform for B2B positioning. In the last five years its user base has expanded, rapidly growing from 690 million in 2020 to 1.1 billion today! LinkedIn can be easily leveraged by engaging with others, reposting content, commenting on posts,

linking articles, conducting live chats and a multitude of other brand building tactics. It is a low lift with great ROI potential.

Conferences

National and regional events are the backbone of the cannabis industry. It’s impossible to be at all of them, however it is possible to stand out when you are attending them. Every event has opportunities to speak. Make the time to fill out each speaking application carefully and stay current with the events that stand out to you. Even if the speaker roster is full, reach out to apply anyway. There are always cancellations affording last minute opportunities. A speaker slot will build authority and credibility.

Podcasting

Whether you are a guest or have ambitiously launched your own, Podcasts afford you the opportunity to share your ideas, passions and vision to a dedicated audience. Though the audience is not generally mass media in size, they tend to attract listeners who share the same intensity and dedication you have for your cannabis company. There are very few outliers in the mix, allowing you to communicate with other business leaders who could help fuel the growth of your company by unleashing new connections. If you have the time, personality and interest, you can launch your own podcast. The cost of entry is low and in time the halo effect can yield great results.

Also Read: Last Week in Weed: August 19- 26, 2025

No Time Like the Present

The tactics outlined above work. That we can say with confidence. Having executed thought leadership campaigns for brands, startups, industry associations and service organizations for the past four decades, we can attest to these initiatives. Since running a business is time intensive, along with putting out proverbial fires and keeping abreast of regulatory changes, we recommend at least picking one or two tactical ideas, and build from there. Your brand will benefit in this competitive marketplace.

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Labour MP and long-time medical cannabis advocate, Tonia Antoniazzi, has called on the government to fund a new observational trial to support children with drug-resistant epilepsy, who are still unable to access medical cannabis on the NHS.

Antoniazzi is spearheading a new campaign launched in memory of Hannah Deacon, the mother of Alfie Dingley, who campaigned for the legalisation of medical cannabis in 2018. Hannah died of cancer last year, aged just 45. 

Her high-profile campaign led to Alfie, who has a rare and severe form of treatment-resistant epilepsy, becoming the first person to obtain a full licence for the prescription of medical cannabis through the NHS in June 2018.

Later that year, on 1 November, the government announced the rescheduling of cannabis-based medicines, making them legal to prescribe by doctors on the specialist register. 

Almost eight years on, an estimated 80,000 patients are now able to access medical cannabis through private clinics in the UK, but only four children (including Alfie) receive prescriptions through the NHS, whilst other families face costs of around £15,000 per year.

Hannah Deacon died last year after a short battle with cancer.

An “unacceptable burden”

During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 4th March, Antoniazzi, MP for Gower, asked Keir Starmer to commit a “modest” £2 million for an observational trial to relieve these families of this “unacceptable burden”. 

“Many families are still paying around £1,300 a month for a treatment that is already legal to prescribe,” said Antoniazzi, who has previously accompanied families travelling to the Netherlands to access medical cannabis.

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The proposed study would run alongside two previously announced NHS-funded randomised control trials (RCTs) on medical cannabis and epilepsy, which are being conducted by researchers at UCL. It would allow children who are currently prescribed the treatment privately to continue accessing it at no cost, while real-world data is collected.

The research team is said to have confirmed that an accompanying observational trial would be a viable option. However, the Prime Minister failed to commit to the additional funding, instead pointing to the £8 million already invested in RCTs. 

“Hannah Deacon’s campaign for her son, Alfie, was remarkable, and I know how much she’s missed,” Starmer told the House.

“We are investing £8 million in clinical trials on cannabis based medicines for conditions like drug-resistant epilepsy, and I want to see patients accessing safe, effective medicines and new treatments as quickly as possible.” 

The RCTs were first promised in 2019 following a review commissioned by former Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Although finally announced in 2024, they have since been delayed again.

Campaigners warn that these will take several years to complete and are not suitable for those children already prescribed medical cannabis, for whom the treatment has already significantly reduced seizures, where all other options have failed. 

“While I understand the government’s reticence to move towards any kind of drug reform… this is a titrated drug, and is widely accepted in other countries around the world,” Antoniazzi tells Cannabis Health.

“Why we are making it difficult for these families to access a prescription that makes their children’s lives so much easier baffles me.”

“We made her a promise we wouldn’t give up”

Even after Alfie secured his NHS prescription, Hannah continued campaigning to ensure other families could access the same treatment. Now, Antoniazzi and other parents say they will continue that fight in Hannah’s name.

“What drives me is Hannah, and how she fought for all families and how she fought for their children,” she adds.

“She was a really special woman, and her family wants her legacy to remain.”

In a post on her Instagram, Emma Appleby, who campaigned alongside Hannah on behalf of her daughter Teagan, said: “Although Hannah’s son had an NHS prescription, she continued to fight and stand alongside other families like mine who still had to battle… We all made a promise that we wouldn’t give up.”

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Medcan Family Foundation commented: “Hannah was a tireless advocate and a driving force behind progress for families fighting for access. She refused to accept a system that left children waiting without answers… Her legacy continues in this new campaign.”

You can support the Hannah Deacon Campaign for Access to Medical Cannabis by emailing your MP and signing Hannah’s petition here.

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After multiple arrests, Florida officials are ramping up a criminal investigation of a marijuana multistate operator-funded adult-use cannabis legalization campaign even further – just days ahead of a key deadline to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

The criminal probe into the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, funded by Tallahassee-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp., shows the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a sworn enemy of cannabis reform, is “using every means necessary to stifle the voices of over a million Florida voters,” a campaign spokesperson told MJBizDaily.

Florida is the largest medical-only cannabis market in the U.S. and represents a massive opportunity for the legal industry.

But DeSantis’ administration has opposed adult-use marijuana legalization every step of the way.

Marijuana MSO Trulieve’s $200 million spending on marijuana legalization

Trulieve spent more than $150 million on a 2024 legalization effort that came up short despite an endorsement from Donald Trump, then the Republican nominee for president.

In this cycle, DeSantis’ administration has deployed both lawsuits as well as what Politico called an “elections police,” created under a law passed last year, to thwart a second effort.

Campaign finance records show Trulieve has contributed $52.5 million to an effort to gather at least 880,000 signatures from registered voters by a Feb. 1 deadline.

Florida deploys ‘elections police’ to halt marijuana legalization

On Jan. 20, state Attorney General James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ former chief of staff, said that almost a dozen canvassers had been arrested on suspicion of fraud, with more to follow.

On Thursday, days before the Feb. 1 deadline, Uthmeier expanded the fraud probe to every Florida county, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

In a social media post, Uthmeier claimed that “Smart & Safe Florida’s petition fraud touches nearly all of Florida’s 67 counties, and we’ve expanded our investigation statewide.”

As of Friday, Smart & Safe had collected 760,000 signatures, 120,000 short of the required number, according to the state elections website.

Florida officials ‘will stop at nothing’ to thwart cannabis reform

In a statement to MJBizDaily, a Smart & Safe spokesperson said that the campaign followed the law.

“Consistent with Florida law, each and every time we found any sort of discrepancy from state-certified petition gatherers, we reported our suspicions to the Secretary of State,” the statement read.

“In short, it appears the Attorney General is taking issue with the fact that we explicitly follow the law.

“From the months-long delay in sending the ballot language to the court to the after-the-fact nullifying of valid petitions, it seems there is nothing that will stop the administration from preventing these voters from having their say.”

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