Reefer madness is sweeping through Idaho, and it’s making a whole lot of people dumb and dishonest.
Talk show host Bill Colley is among those swept up in the anti-weed hysteria.
Recently, news broke that President Donald Trump is looking for a path to ease marijuana restrictions in the country. That announcement set off a wave of policy denunciations from a handful of Idaho lawmakers and activists.
Some, including Colley, used the news to bash Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), a libertarian-leaning group that has advocated for legalization in the past.
“Legalized Marijuana Coming to Idaho,” Colley shouts from the perch of his uninformed Substack.
The radio host then tries to blame YAL for the coming weed invasion: “If an organization campaigned for drug legalization in other states, then why would it skip Idaho?”
The one thing missing from his Substack? Evidence. Of any kind. Instead, his post is filled with pure speculation, conjecture, and hyperbole.
Let’s take a step back amid the debate and examine a few facts.
First, YAL has been working in Idaho for nearly a decade. It has supported some of the most conservative lawmakers in the state and helped defeat dozens of liberal Republicans. YAL has backed, among others, Scott Herndon, Heather Scott, Tammy Nichols, Brian Lenney, and more. Not one of them has introduced a pro-weed bill. Not one.
Next, several lawmakers who previously enjoyed YAL’s support and door-knocking have sworn off the organization. Why? The pro-pot stance Colley is fear-mongering about?
Hardly. Instead, they wanted YAL to stop attacking moderate Speaker Mike Moyle during the 2024 GOP primary. The first letter sent supposedly kicking YAL to the curb last year didn’t mention weed once.
Did you catch that? Before YAL refused to back down on Moyle, these lawmakers valued the relationship they had with YAL.
Fascinating.
Beyond that, legislators like Scott Herndon, Brian Lenney, Tammy Nichols, and Heather Scott attended a glitzy YAL-sponsored event in Florida in 2022. Did they not know about the organization’s feelings on marijuana at that event? That’s hard to believe—most of them had just come off bruising primaries where opponents had weaponized YAL’s support on the weed issue.
Finally, Colley (and fellow propagandist Brian Almon) failed to note who is actually interested in bringing marijuana to Idaho. During the 2025 session, Rep. Jordan Redman worked with far-left Democrat Ilana Rubel to introduce House Bill 401, a measure to legalize medical marijuana in the state.
Keep in mind that Redman has never had the backing of Young Americans for Liberty.
Redman isn’t alone in his medical marijuana legalization advocacy.
In 2023, House Health and Welfare Committee Chairman John Vander Woude introduced House Bill 370, which would have legalized medical marijuana in Idaho.
Vander Woude, like Redman, has never been backed by Young Americans for Liberty.
Let’s check the scorecard:
- YAL-backed lawmakers bringing weed bills: 0
- Non-YAL-backed lawmakers bringing weed bills: 2
What gives?
I’ve worked closely with YAL in previous jobs (though I’ve never claimed to be their point man, as dishonest screamers have told you) and have never heard them mention weed as a priority. Ever. Not once.
They have mentioned grocery tax repeal, education choice, and a handful of other initiatives that are generally in line with the Idaho Republican Party platform.
But propagandists like Colley and Almon can’t—or worse, won’t—tell you that.
Colley and others would be wise to bring a little nuance to the political arena. He is desperate for you to swear off YAL because it is supposedly pro-weed. But that ignores all the good YAL has done for Idaho in the past.
And Colley won’t apply the same standard elsewhere. Why isn’t he, for example, calling on Idaho lawmakers to swear off Trump, who kicked off this reefer madness in the first place?
It’s all so dishonest and disingenuous.
If you want to hate YAL for fun (or because they won’t bend the knee to Mike Moyle), then be honest and upfront about it. But lying to the public to forward a preferred, dishonest narrative is a bad look. Colley should know better.