$420 Mandatory Minimum Fine For Small Amounts Of Weed Proposed Under New Bill In Idaho

Rep. Bruce Skaug (R) introduced a bill Tuesday that would establish a mandatory minimum fine of $420 for possession of less than 3 ounces of cannabis. Tuesday's hearing was an introduction and did not include public testimony.

House Bill 606, Skaug's second attempt to create a mandatory fine, was meant to clarify that other penalties defined under the state law can also be simultaneously applied with the $420 fine.

Under current state law, anyone caught in possession of more than 3 ounces of cannabis is facing either a prison sentence of up to fine years or a fine of up to $10,000, or both, reports Idaho Capital Sun. 

The fine, $420, clearly refers to the cannabis holiday of 4/20. Skaug used more weed-related insinuations during the committee hearing on Tuesday, saying that he "smoked out" the problem in this previous bill and had his assistant "Mary Jane" make the changes.

The proposed measure follows a move by Idaho legislators who presented legislation to criminalize advertising for illegal cannabis products. State Rep. Judy Boyle (R) and State Sen. Chris Trakel sponsored the bill, which aims to address the visibility of marijuana ads across all mediums in Idaho. 

The bill marks the effort to minimize the influence of Idaho's neighboring states that have legalized cannabis. Other than Wyoming, all of Idaho’s neighboring states have legalized either medical or recreational cannabis. 

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