crowd outside full size

A more than capacity crowd gathered for a hearing on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 on SJR 101, a proposed anti-drug constitutional amendment, at the state Capitol. Attendees filled all 30 of the available seats in the committee hearing room, plus spilled over into the Lincoln Auditorium, the designated overflow room, across the hall.

BOISE — An Idaho Senate committee on Wednesday delayed its vote on SJR 101, the anti-drug constitutional amendment proposed by Sen. C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, at least until Friday.

"We have an issue that's come up, so would like to continue this 'til Friday if we may," Grow told the State Affairs Committee. The senators unanimously agreed to the delay.

SJR 101 was the topic of an emotional three-hour hearing on Monday. It would amend the Idaho Constitution to forbid the state from ever legalizing any psychoactive drug that wasn't already legal in the state as of July 1, 2021, and also approved by the FDA and prescribed by a physician. It's aimed at foreclosing any possibility of Idaho voters by initiative — or future legislatures — legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use, as all but one of Idaho's neighboring states already have done.

SJR 101 is co-sponsored by 22 of Idaho's 28 GOP state senators, including State Affairs Chair Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, and Senate President Pro-Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise.

Betsy Z. Russell is the Boise bureau chief and state capitol reporter for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing Group. Follow her on Twitter at @BetsyZRussell.

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