New election, same results. Three of four proposed marijuana reform initiatives were approved by Hailey's electorate Tuesday.
Voters approved initiatives to legalize medical use of marijuana by a margin of 417-296, to legalize industrial use of hemp by 403-308 and to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest police priority in the city by a margin of 381-331.
Turned down once again was an initiative to require the city to regulate and tax distribution of the drug. It failed 386-323.
Pro-marijuana advocate Ryan Davidson, a former Bellevue man who now lives in Garden City, filed petitions to place the initiatives before the voters once again after Hailey city officials threatened to file a lawsuit to have the three previously approved initiatives declared illegal in court. That lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Blaine County 5th District Court.
Davidson, chairman of The Liberty Lobby of Idaho, said passage again of the initiatives would make it "politically less viable" for the city of Hailey to ignore the will of the electorate.
Prior to the election, neither Davidson nor city officials were willing to predict the outcome, though Davidson said, "I'd think it's going to be close to the same percentages as last time."
Last November, 1,288 voters, about 37 percent of the city's registered electorate, showed up at the polls.
The medical marijuana and industrial hemp initiatives were approved in that election by about 53 percent of voters. About 51 percent of voters approved the lowest-police-priority initiative, while the regulation and taxation measure failed with only 47 percent voter approval.
Hailey Mayor Rick Davis said he had "no idea" as to the outcome of pot election No. 2.
"There's been a lot more publicity this time about the initiatives," he said. "I think people are a lot more educated now about the issues. But I don't know if it will have a different outcome or not."
Rick Davis
