66.27% no: Idaho voters reject HJR 4, keeping their power to legalize marijuana by ballot initiative

Idaho voters on Tuesday rejected House Joint Resolution 4, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have given the Idaho Legislature sole power to legalize marijuana, narcotics and other psychoactive substances, taking that option away from citizen ballot initiatives. In unofficial statewide results posted by the Idaho Secretary of State's office on Wednesday morning, "No" had 462,551 votes, or 66.27%, to 235,475 votes, or 33.73%, for "Yes."

The Associated Press called the race late Tuesday, the Idaho Capital Sun reported. Marijuana Moment, citing the AP, reported that the measure was trailing 66% to 34% on Wednesday morning with an estimated 94% of ballots counted. Idaho's results do not become official until they are certified by the Idaho State Board of Canvassers, which meets Nov. 24, according to the Capital Sun.

What HJR 4 would have done

A "yes" vote would have amended the Idaho Constitution so that only the Legislature could legalize marijuana, narcotics or other psychoactive substances, and would have removed citizens' ability to do so through a citizen-initiated law; a "no" vote keeps that option, according to the Secretary of State's voter information that Idaho News 6 cited in October.

Passing HJR 4 would have removed Idahoans' authority to run a ballot initiative to legalize medical or recreational drugs, the Capital Sun reported. Marijuana Moment reported that it would have meant voters could never collect signatures to put a marijuana or drug legalization initiative on the ballot. The amendment would have applied to both medical and recreational marijuana, The Marijuana Herald reported.

The vote does not legalize anything. All forms of marijuana and cannabis are illegal in Idaho and remain illegal, the Capital Sun reported. What the result does is leave the citizen initiative process in place, so voters keep the power to try to legalize marijuana through a future ballot measure, according to the Capital Sun and The Marijuana Herald.

How it got on the ballot

The Legislature approved HJR 4 in March 2025, The Marijuana Herald reported, by a vote of 58 to 10 in the House and 29 to 6 in the Senate. Every Republican in the Senate supported the resolution, while all six Democratic senators opposed it, according to the Herald. Constitutional amendments passed by the Legislature go to voters for approval.

Republicans in the Legislature said they did not want out-of-state interest groups spending big and "deceiving" Idaho voters into approving marijuana, the Capital Sun reported. Sen. C. Scott Grow, a Republican who led the effort to put the amendment on the ballot, described it as a way to push back against the marijuana industry. "The reason that people push this—the marijuana lobby, whomever—is because there's money to be made, particularly when people become addicted," Grow said, according to Marijuana Moment.

In an Oct. 8 report, Idaho News 6 quoted Rep. Clint Hostetler, a House co-sponsor, calling HJR 4 "a tool to protect the state from citizens initiative that would legalize marijuana or any schedule one drug."

What opponents said after the vote

Reclaim Idaho, which formally opposed the amendment, said voters saw the question as one about ballot rights. "Idaho voters clearly understood that HJR4 was never about drugs; it was always about the right of Idaho voters to make their voices heard through the ballot initiative process," Executive Director Luke Mayville said in a written statement late Tuesday night, according to the Capital Sun. "As we traveled the state in recent months and engaged with voters across Idaho, we found Republicans, Democrats and independents united in their view that this resolution was nothing more than a power grab by the Idaho Legislature," he added.

David Adler, president of the nonprofit Alturas Institute in Idaho Falls, said passing HJR 4 would have meant voters voluntarily giving up their own rights and freedoms, the Capital Sun reported.

National reform groups also weighed in. Adam J. Smith, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said that "Idaho voters have scored a major victory for citizen-led advocacy and common sense by soundly rejecting HJR 4," according to Marijuana Moment. Smith also said simple possession in Idaho "can be punished by up to a year in jail, while a second offense can be elevated to a felony."

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said HJR 4 "wasn't anti-marijuana; it was anti-democracy," Marijuana Moment reported.

Idaho's recent marijuana fights

Idaho remains among the states without a comprehensive medical marijuana program or legal recreational sales, The Marijuana Herald reported. Its neighbors Washington, Oregon, Montana and Nevada all used the ballot initiative process to legalize marijuana, according to the Capital Sun.

Two proposed initiatives, the Idaho Medical Cannabis Act and the Decriminalize Cannabis Now Initiative, failed to qualify for the 2026 ballot, the Herald reported. In July, the Secretary of State's office said the medical cannabis initiative did not qualify after failing to submit enough valid signatures, both in total and in the required number of legislative districts, Marijuana Moment reported at the time. To qualify, the campaign needed valid signatures from 6% of registered voters, or 70,725, including 6% in at least 18 of the state's 35 legislative districts.

The Natural Medical Alliance of Idaho, the campaign behind that effort, has pushed back against the secretary of state's determination about its signatures, including his decision to refer allegations of possible illegal petitioning conduct to law enforcement, according to Marijuana Moment. The campaign released a poll in February that it said showed 83% of likely voters back medical cannabis legalization, Marijuana Moment reported.

Lawmakers also pushed back in other ways. Both chambers passed a resolution this session urging voters to "reject" the medical marijuana petition, Marijuana Moment reported, and Gov. Brad Little last year signed legislation setting a $300 mandatory minimum fine for marijuana possession.

What happens next

With HJR 4 defeated, Idaho's constitution stays as it is. The Marijuana Herald reported that the result preserves a potential path for future legalization efforts without requiring legislative approval, though any such initiative would still need to qualify for the ballot. The State Board of Canvassers is scheduled to certify the results on Nov. 24, according to the Capital Sun.

Idaho was one of several states with marijuana questions on Tuesday's ballot. Massachusetts voters rejected Question 8, which would have repealed recreational marijuana sales, and Houston voters approved Proposition A, making misdemeanor marijuana possession the city police department's lowest enforcement priority, Marijuana Moment reported.

Vote totals cited here are unofficial and may change. This article is news coverage, not legal advice.