SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 21, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Governor Gary Herbert said he sees a “path forward” to legalize medical marijuana in Utah, but he warned “I’m not interested in having Dr. Feelgood out there say, ‘Yeah, yeah, que pasa, you know, here’s your doobie for the day and you’ll feel better.'”
The governor’s comments came during his monthly news conference on Thursday, less than a week before the Utah Legislature’s 2016 General Session opens on Monday, January 25.
The governor has been open to the idea of medical marijuana and reiterated his support today saying, “If there’s a medicine out there that will help alleviate pain, improve medical conditions and lives, then we ought to embrace it.”
Herbert is worried about the lack of federal government control over the quality and quantity process, he said.
“I don’t think it’s good policy for us to have laws in different states that allow the use of marijuana, whether it’s medical or recreation use, and then have the federal government turn a blind eye to the violation of federal law,” he said.
In fact, the governor would like the state to push for Congress to act on the medical marijuana issue at the same time it is being debated in the Utah legislature.
Two competing bills are likely to be introduced in the upcoming session.
The governor also talked about making educational funding the top priority at the legislature and taking action on air quality issues. Herbert described Utah’s air quality issue as “not just a quality of life issue ─ being able to see the mountains better ─ but also a health and economic development issue.”
