SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 4, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Governor Gary Herbert has announced a November special session to address Prop 2 and seek out compromise.
Proposition 2 calls for the legalization of medical marijuana in Utah. The compromise would change some of the policies outlined in Prop 2 which bill opponents have fought against, he said.
Among the changes are that medical marijuana would have to be prescribed by licensed physicians, and specially trained pharmacists would distribute the drug through a limited number of specialty pharmacies.
In addition, the compromise bill would clarify how law enforcement officials could distinguish between what would and would not qualify as legal use.
And local communities would have some say in how cannabis would be used within their boundaries.
Herbert said he and other stakeholders — including representatives from law enforcement, faiths including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and medicine — have worked to come up with a modified bill that will address issues of concern in the original Prop 2.
Stakeholders have come together from different backgrounds and viewpoints, Herbert said Thursday at a news conference.
“The one is they want to find ways to help ease pain and suffering,” Herbert said, adding that in doing so, ” … we do not have some unintended consequences.”
Herbert said the modified bill will still displease some people who don’t want cannabis legalized in Utah even for medical use. But care has been taken to add strict controls to the distribution through and use of medical cannabis.
Regardless of what happens, Herbert said, “We need to have the Legislature to come together and fix whatever needs to be fixed.”
One of multiple speakers to follow Herbert was Jack N. Gerard, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy in the LDS Church.
The Church remains opposed to Proposition 2 and has encouraged people to vote against it, Gerard said, but understands the desire to “alleviate human pain and suffering.”
Gerard said the modified bill will be vetted through public hearings, and he is “… eager to move forward together on this important measure.”
Herbert predicted that Utah patients will eventually have access to marijuana whether or not voters pass Prop 2, saying the work done on the compromise bill will inform future legislative discussions and decisions.
Gephardt Daily will have more details on the proposed compromise bill as they emerge.
How did I know they would do this like liquor. This is not a victory.