Fluewelling is a member of THC Ministry, a Hawaii-based organization that believes cannabis, the active ingredient in marijuana, is a fundamental right protected by God and the U.S. Constitution. Last week, the Idaho Supreme Court unanimously rejected Fluewelling’s appeal that his religious rights were being violated.

THC Ministry formally stands for The Hawaii Cannabis, according to the group’s website. THC is also the abbreviation for the psychoactive substance found in marijuana.

In his decision, Chief Justice Dan Eismann quoted an 1879 U.S. Supreme Court case stating how the government can regulate religious acts. “Laws are made for the government of actions; and, while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices,” the court wrote in Reynolds v. United States, which Eismann quoted.

Fluewelling had argued that the state’s exemption for the sacramental use of peyote, which applies to members of Native American tribes, applies to his church and marijuana, but the court disagreed.

According to Eismann’s ruling, Meridian police found a third of an ounce of marijuana in Fluewelling’s residence in 2008, but he pled guilty to intention to distribute marijuana, which is a felony and carries stiffer punishment than mere possession. Fluewelling argued the state law is vague, letting prosecutors decide whether to prosecute for possession or intent to distribute drugs, but Eismann rejected that argument, saying Fluewelling told police he would share the marijuana with friends as a sacrament.

According to a Pew Research Center Poll, 45 percent of Americans now favor some form of legalization of marijuana. In 1990, that number was only 16 percent. Fifty percent of Americans oppose legalization, which is down from 81 percent 20 years ago.

With public perception seeming to move in favor of legalizing marijuana, is it a good idea for Idaho to join the trend as well?

According to Debbie Field with the Idaho Office of Drug Policy, that isn’t going to happen any time soon. Field believes that marijuana draws some similarities with the tobacco industry, saying, “Smoke is smoke. It’s not good for you. We’ve seen everything that has happened in regards to the tobacco industry. You can’t even smoke in most bars or bowling alleys anymore because of how bad it is.”

Rep. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, also believes marijuana should not be legalized, even for medicinal use. “We have enough problems with people using marijuana as it is. Any time you make it easier for a person to have access to drugs, there could be some unintended consequences.”

Thayn’s sentiment is echoed by a retired Idaho sheriff, who prefers his name not be used. He said decriminalizing marijuana use would ease some stress on the prison system and the court system because many offenders are there for that kind of drug offense. But, he cautioned, in all his years in law enforcement, “I saw only a handful of hardcore drug users who did not begin with marijuana. I can’t support legalizing it. I think the potential problems would be pretty bad.”

Although there are several states that allow medicinal marijuana, according to Field, there is some sentiment for moving away from legalization. Montana legalized medicinal marijuana for special medical conditions in 2004. However, the Montana House of Representatives has approved a measure to repeal the state’s Medicinal Marijuana Act with a vote of 63-37. A Senate committee killed that bill on a 6-6 vote Monday in Helena, but it is expected that some type of reform bill instead of a repeal bill will be introduced that may pass both the Montana House and Senate.

Still, there are supporters of medicinal marijuana throughout Idaho, including Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow. Trail introduced a bill in January called the Idaho Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The bill would set up a system for those in need to legally obtain marijuana. In order to have access to medicinal marijuana, patients would need a certificate from a doctor and they would have to register with the state. Those providing care for patients who are prescribed marijuana would also have to register with the state. The bill is not expected to get out of committee.

Trail believes it’s time to let Idahoans get away from all of the prescription drugs they are taking, and just feel better. In a recent interview, Trail said, “All they (patients) want is relief from pain and some normalcy.”

Montana state Rep. Mike Milburn, R-Cascade, believes marijuana is destroying his state, saying “This drug is changing the identity of our state and moreso undermining our culture we are so proud of.” He also says Montana has become a “source state” for marijuana distribution according to his sources at the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Justice. Milburn is the Senate sponsor of the bill that did not get out of committee.

He cites several medical associations that do not endorse using medical marijuana for treatment. These include the American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The Idaho Medical Association, which is comprised of 2,600 medical professionals throughout Idaho, has no official stance on the issue, saying “We have no stance either way. We are completely neutral on this issue,” said a spokesman.

Milburn believes medicinal marijuana impacts everyone in the state. “My concern is for our children, students, business and communities who have to deal with these overwhelming repercussions,” adding, “Our state is one of great integrity, pride, and honest values and I intend to keep those characteristics intact.”

Bath salts have even made the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list as a “Drug of Concern” even though only a handful of states have decided the problem is bad enough to ban them.

With the governor’s signature, Idaho joins a dozen states to have banned Spice over the last couple of years.

According to the state Office of Drug Policy (ODP), bath salts and Spice are designer drugs that can cause hallucinogenic and suicidal thoughts. “Make no mistake, these are chemicals that are not used to ‘soak in a relaxing bath’ or for ‘aroma therapy,’” Debbie Field of the ODP said. She also added that these drugs contain toxic chemicals, none of which are found in traditional household bath salts, adding that they are “not for human consumption.”

During the press conference, Gov. Otter called this “an important time because it seems we have a never-ending list, or battle, against controlled substances.” He also expressed his hope that these would be the last of the drugs added to the controlled substance list for the state, but cautioned against thinking that way. “It seems like every time we turn around somebody finds a new way to destroy people’s lives.”

The governor did find some time for a little humor when talking about banning bath salts, joking,“Well, you get more than a good soak.”

The Idaho Senate Friday followed the House’s lead in unanimously approving bans on the chemicals used to make Spice, which can be used like marijuana and has been sold as incense, and hallucinogenic bath salts, which opponents say can have effects similar to cocaine and methamphetamine.

“These are bad drugs, and we need to take them off the market,” said Sen. Les Bock, D-Boise.

Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, said bath salts have horrendous effects and can destroy people’s lives.

The Idaho Board of Pharmacy previously banned “Spice,” but legislative action was needed to make that ban permanent. Both plans now head to Gov. Butch Otter for his consideration.

Read IdahoReporter.com‘s coverage of the House vote to ban both synthetic drugs here.

Blunt wraps, which can also be called tobacco wrappers and roll your own cigar wraps, are hollow wrappers made of reconstituted tobacco that can be flavored and filled with a smokeable product. The flavors, which include tobacco, apple, and mango, and the shape of the wraps could hide the look and smell of marijuana, according to ban supporters. They are already banned in Canada, Boston, and New York City, but Illinois lawmakers rejected a ban last week.

The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee agreed to hold a hearing on the legislation that’s backed by committee chair Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, and Russell Westerberg, a lobbyist for the Cigar Association of America.

“They always come out with kind of technology to be a step ahead of us, and we are always playing catch up,” said Darrington.

The law would label blunt wraps as drug paraphernalia and make it illegal to have or use them. Westerberg said he’s unaware of any cigar or tobacco users who use blunt wraps, but that such people could come forward during the panel’s hearing on the legislation.

“The term ‘blunt’ has become associated and synonymous with marijuana and joints,” Westerberg said. “If Paris Hilton had been using a blunt (wrap), … she probably wouldn’t have been arrested.”

Westerberg said the ban wouldn’t apply to rolling paper used for loose tobacco to make cigarettes. His legislation said the ban would cost $1,850, which he said is a far cry from the $22 million it costs to treat addiction to illegal drugs including marijuana and Spice in Idaho.

The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee also agreed to hold hearings on legislation amending the state rape-by-fraud law to protect unmarried women. The law change, also backed by Darrington, follows a well-publicized case of a woman whose boyfriend allegedly tricked her into having sex with another man. Current state law only protects married women in that situation.

Darrington said he’d heard from several lawmakers asking him if the rape law would be changed.

The high court followed the precedent of a 1989 Idaho Court of Appeals case that says daytime spans from dawn to the point of darkness when a person can’t distinguish another’s features using natural light.

The ruling came in a case involving a police search of a man’s living area. In February of 2009, Sandpoint police searched the motel room Robert Skurlock was staying in and, based on the evidence recovered, arrested him on drug charges for possessing marijuana.

Skurlock was sentenced to a year in jail by a state district court, but appealed the case because police used a daytime warrant to search his motel room, yet the search happened at around 6 p.m., which was more than half an hour after the official sunset.

In his ruling, Supreme Court Justice Jim Jones said daytime search warrants are used because searching during the day feels less invasive to citizens and searching at night can be more dangerous for law enforcement.

Skurlock argued that the court should follow a Utah court decision limiting daylight to half an hour before sunrise and half an hour after sunset. That ruling could have invalidated the evidence in his case.

Jones rejected Skurlock’s argument, saying that the standard set by the appeals court doesn’t violate the Constitution, though he acknowledged it isn’t idea.

“It is likely difficult to discern whether natural light alone was sufficient to identify another’s features, or alternatively, whether visibility was due to a combination of natural light and artificial light,” Jones writes. He said the state rule could be changed through the state’s rule-making process.

In a concurring decision on the case, Justice Warren Jones argued that the “distinguishing features” guideline is difficult for law enforcement to follow, given that people’s eyesight varies and the abundance of artificial light from streetlights and buildings.

“It leaves police and courts without any significant guidance when a daytime search warrant can be served,” Justice Warren Jones said about the current daytime rule. He said the Court, in its ruling, should have adopted the federal standard for executing search warrants, which is from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Unger started working for IDOC in 1994. He was released on bail and is currently on paid administrative leave pending further review.

Read the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office’s news release below.

On January 6th 2011 an Idaho Correctional Institution-Orofino (ICIO) Lieutenant William Unger was arrested for the distribution of a controlled substance in the community to a person under the age of eighteen (18), a felony . Unger, 47 years old from Orofino, was transported to the Clearwater County Jail and later released on a $10,000 bond.

The investigation began on January 5th, 2011 at the request of the Idaho Department of Correction. Unger was arrested at his residence in Orofino without incident and investigation is ongoing.

Though Idaho is, in many ideological aspects, as far from California as one state could be, some of the citizens of Idaho want the Legislature to consider a very California-esque proposition: legalize the sale of marijuana.  The two states are facing huge revenue shortfalls, though California’s is in the billions and Idaho is in the millions, and some citizens believe one way to make up the shortfall is to regulate the sale of pot.

“If possession of less than one ounce of marijuana was penalized with a ticket…the state would go from spending to making money instantly,” wrote Coral Spitler of Boise, who argued instead for the punishment for marijuana possession to be lessened.

Advocates of the pot taxation idea believe California could generate as much as $990 million and the measure to make legal the practice of smoking cannabis for pleasure is under consideration by the state’s legislature.  It is unknown how much Idaho would make if the state made the change.

Citizens also took the time to suggest changes for the operation of the Legislature.  Several suggestions involved how to effectively reduce the cost of the having a legislative session.  Many recommended Idaho join Nevada, Montana, Oregon, North Dakota, and Texas in having one legislative session every two years.  A few respondents advocated that Idaho join Nebraska and condense the legislature down to a unicameral (single legislative body combining House and Senate) body.  Other citizens believed the Legislature should put a time limit on itself of either 30 or 45 business days, which is the standard in Utah.

“Nothing in this state should take one-fourth of each year for a legislative session,” wrote W. Loshbaugh of Meridian. Brad Moulton, also of Meridian, called on lawmakers to meet only by teleconference which, he argued, would save the state money and make legislators more accessible to the general public.

According to some estimates, the Idaho Legislature costs taxpayers $30,000 each business day, though some believe it could be as much as $35,000 per day.

No discussion about government would be complete without some form of tax talk.  This list is no exception, though many citizens called for taxes to be raised, not lowered.  Suggestions for tax increases varied from increasing the income tax by 1 percent to increasing the sales tax from 6 percent to 8-9 percent.   Many people submitted suggestions to increase taxes on “sin” items—beer, wine, cigarettes, and liquor – to gain additional revenue.  Ken Jackson, of Sandpoint, even suggested raising the gas tax by 25 cents, which he believes would force people to drive less and allow Idaho to enter the “transportation 21^st century.”

One of the primary causes of last year’s elongated legislative session was Gov. Butch Otter’s desire to see a 3-cent increase in the state’s gas taxes.  The Senate approved the hike, but the House refused to approve even a 2-cent hike.

Among the other suggestions were:

• Consolidating all state university systems into a single unit.
• Combining all state university athletic programs (no more Vandals vs. Broncos).
• Raising tax on chocolate and bottle water.
• Giving the state checkbook to a woman who has lived through hard times.
• Cutting “unconstitutional” athletic and music programs in schools.
• Cutting the pay of Boise State football coach Chris Peterson.

And this from Suzanne Coffey in Nampa:

• “I propose families who have more than 2-3 children…start paying some type of an amount back to the state to educate each child.”  Coffey argues that children from large families usually have large families of their own and that, in turn, leads to school districts needing more buses, teachers, and support staff.

To review the list for yourself or to make suggestions, please visit the governor’s website.

The three departments announced the program today that will enable people to take their unwanted or unused medications to drop-box locations around the valley. The three departments crafted the initiative after a program that has proved successful in the city of Meridian, which began on October 1, 2009. Since the program began, Meridian city officials have reported collecting over three-hundred pounds of medications.

The program aims to cut down on water pollution and drug misuse and abuse among residents of the Treasure Valley.

One common disposal method has been to simply flush old medications down the toilet. While that disposes of the problem for the person doing the flushing, it leads to larger problems for the community.  According to The Harvard Heart Letter, which is a publication of Harvard University, prescription drugs “Can kill helpful bacteria in septic systems and pass largely untouched through sewage treatment plants.” It is also reported that drugs which are disposed of in landfills can end up in groundwater after they biodegrade.

The program will also help Treasure Valley residents avoid using the wrong medications.  The press release issued by the three departments states that according to National Institutes of Health, nearly 500,000 people across the nation visited the emergency room last year due to misuse of prescription medications.

City officials believe removing old medications from homes will reduce also drug abuse across the valley. Elisha Figeroa, the Community Services Coordinator for the Meridian Police Department, says that “prescriptions drugs are now the drugs of choice for 12-13 year olds.”  The Office of National Drug Control Policy also reports that while marijuana use is still the most commonly abused drug in the country, prescription drugs aren’t far behind.

With the new program, Boise, Garden City, and Ada County are doing their part to reduce the problem that causes problems for so many people. “Hopefully, with the help of these green bins, we can prevent some of that harm, and spare some family the agony that comes with drug abuse,” said Boise Deputy Chief Jim Kerns.

It is important to note that prior to dropping medications in drop-boxes, drugs must be prepared correctly. All medications must be bagged and liquid containers must be in sealed bags to prevent spills. People are urged not to drop needles, sharp objects, or hazardous waste in the collection bins.

Once the drugs have been dropped off at one of the three drop-box locations, they will be removed at the end of each day and taken to a secure location. After the drugs are secured, they will be shipped to Utah to be incinerated.

Officials also want the public to know dropping medications is completely anonymous. Though the Meridian city drop program has not reported taking in any illegal drugs, such as marijuana or cocaine, officials know it could happen.

“There are no questions asked when the drugs are dropped off” said Figeroa. “We have no way to know who dropped it off.”

To find your nearest drop-box location, click here.