An outrageous bill that removes the ballot initiative process for cannabis legalization has unfortunately passed the Idaho House of Representatives and Senate in lopsided votes.

The new law imposes an exorbitant $300 fine as a mandatory minimum on low-level possession of cannabis.

The Smarter Sentencing Act (S. 1410), sponsored by a bipartisan coalition including Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Lee (R-UT), would bring real change to destructive mandatory minimum sentences in our criminal justice system. Aside from saving billions of dollars spent on incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders, the bill would give judges more flexibility in sentencing those with minor criminal records. More specifically, some current mandatory minimum sentences would be cut in half. That means that…

[caption id="attachment_6938" align="alignright" width="121"] Attorney General Eric Holder[/caption] In August, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the DOJ would avoid prosecuting low-level, non-violent drug offenders with harsh charges that carry mandatory minimums. Today, a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities. However, many aspects of our criminal justice system may actually exacerbate this problem, rather than…