COEUR d’ALENE — Local cannabis advocates will field questions and share information with community members. 

Legalize Idaho, a group that promotes legalizing cannabis, will host an informal open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library.

“We’re promoting education, raising awareness and creating discussion in our local communities,” said Serra Frank, community director of Legalize Idaho. “We’re trying to change the stigma that surrounds cannabis and the ‘Reefer Madness’ that seems to be alive and well in Idaho.” 

The open house will feature displays and opportunities to speak with advocates about efforts to legalize cannabis in Idaho. The Coeur d’Alene event is part of the Educate and Legalize Idaho Tour, which is stopping in Idaho’s largest cities and expected to return to Post Falls in the spring. 

Frank said she’s been active in cannabis advocacy in Idaho for about 20 years, and in that time, she’s seen attitudes shift. While the idea of cannabis becoming legal in Idaho is more acceptable to the public than in the past, Frank said legislators have looked to tighten their grip. 

During the most recent legislative session, state lawmakers advanced an effort to eliminate voters’ ability to legalize marijuana through a ballot initiative. In 2026, a question will appear on Idahoans’ ballot about whether to amend Idaho’s Constitution to allow only the legislators to have a say in legalizing “psychoactive substances.” 

Frank said Legalize Idaho aims to promote personal freedoms. 

“A big focus of our efforts is medical freedom, the freedom to choose what to put in our own bodies,” she said. “We believe that Idaho has more compassion than telling people to just move to a legal state.”

Though marijuana remains illegal under federal law, 74% of Americans live in a state where the substance is legal for medical or recreational purposes, according to a 2024 analysis by the Pew Research Center. 

The analysis found that one in every five dispensaries in the U.S. is located within 20 miles of a state border and 29% of border dispensaries adjoin a neighboring state with less permissive cannabis laws. 

“Everyone in America has easy access,” said Orenda Peterson, an organizer of the Coeur d’Alene chapter of Legalize Idaho. “I’ve been to dispensaries and I’ve seen Idaho license plates.” 

Cannabis is legal for recreational use in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Nevada and for medical use in Utah. With Idahoans patronizing dispensaries in neighboring states, Peterson said Idaho is leaving money on the table. 

“We’re supporting other states’ economies instead of having that money go to us,” she said. 

Peterson said the stigma surrounding cannabis use remains strong.

“I think that fear is what’s driving (cannabis) to be illegal,” she said.