SALT LAKE CITY — Utah legislators were moving Thursday to scrap a planned state-run medical marijuana dispensary system after county attorneys said it would put public employees at risk of being prosecuted under federal drug laws. Under the revised plan being written by Republican Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, medical cannabis would instead be distributed […]
Utah
6 companies challenge Utah’s medical marijuana growing picks
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s decision to award a smaller number of medical marijuana grower licenses than allowed by law is being challenged by six companies that say the state granted licenses to unqualified cultivators and had inappropriate interactions with applicants, among other claims. Chris Hughes, director of the state’s Division of Purchasing, confirmed that […]
Competition to grow medical marijuana in Utah heats up
The wide metal barn on the Utah alfalfa farm owned by Russell and Diane Jones will host their youngest son’s wedding next month. By September, they hope the structure will be full of marijuana plants. The Joneses are fourth-generation farmers, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and among 81 applicants for […]
Utah is allowing only 10 cannabis farms. Will that be enough to supply the state’s new medical marijuana program?
If the cannabis industry perfectly complied with Utah’s expectations, it would grow 84,292.98 plants annually. These perfectly obedient plants would offer 10.4 million grams of THC (marijuana’s psychoactive compound), enough to supply exactly 100,000 patients with 2 grams of cannabinoids per week for the entire year. The supply would meet the demand, and no cannabis […]
Medical marijuana in Utah: You can use it, but you can’t buy it
Utah patients can use medical marijuana legally after a compromise agreement was signed into law, but they likely won’t be able to buy it legally until at least 2020, officials said Tuesday. The state will need time to first build up a database to start issuing patients medical-cannabis cards, and then begin granting licenses for […]
Medical marijuana bill passes in Utah after compromise gains support from Mormon church
Utah has passed sweeping changes to a new voter-approved medical-marijuana ballot measure under a planned compromise that secured support of the influential Mormon church but sparked a backlash from advocates. Supporters of the compromise cheered the vote, saying it would help suffering patients while creating safeguards against broader recreational use. “I believe this agreement was a landmark day […]
Marijuana Embraced in Michigan, Utah and Missouri, but Rejected in North Dakota
Marijuana initiatives appeared on ballots in four states in the midterm elections. In Michigan and North Dakota, initiatives gave voters the opportunity to legalize marijuana for recreational use. In Missouri and Utah, voters chose whether to allow people who are sick to use the drug for medical reasons. Here are the results of those initiatives. […]
Utah Votes To Approve Medical Marijuana Measure
Proposition 2 asked the Utah electorate to determine whether patients in the state should have legal access to medical marijuana. On Tuesday, voters answered with a yes. Unofficial election night totals put the initiative ahead, 53 percent to 47 percent, and showed the measure with a commanding lead in Salt Lake County. Although a number […]
Where marijuana is on the ballot tomorrow — and where it’s most likely to win
It has been a big year for marijuana policy in North America. Mexico’s supreme court overturned pot prohibition last week, while Canada’s recreational marijuana market officially opened its doors in October. Stateside, recreational marijuana use became legal in Vermont on July 1, Oklahoma voters approved one of the country’s most progressive medical marijuana bills in June, the New York Department […]
Sen. Jim Dabakis says at least one Utah lawmaker should try marijuana before voting on medical cannabis. So he filmed himself sampling an edible.
State Sen. Jim Dabakis spent more than a minute wrestling with his childproof pouch of marijuana-infused gummies before it would open and release its scent — tangerine. Picking one of the gelatin blobs out of the $30 bag, he nibbled it to find the taste was more acrid than fruity. He grimaced into the cellphone […]
Marijuana and the midterms
Elections can hold significant consequences when it comes to the future of marijuana policy. In 2016 voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada approved ballot initiatives legalizing adult marijuana use. While voters in Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota elected to either legalize or expand medical cannabis access. The outcome of the 2018 midterm elections will be […]
Utah’s governor to call special session on ‘compromise’ medical marijuana, despite public vote on Prop. 2
SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Gary Herbert announced he will call the Utah State Legislature into special session to pass a “compromise” bill on medical marijuana. Supporters and opponents of Proposition 2 stood side-by-side to endorse the bill, which will be run through the legislature regardless of how the public votes on the citizen referendum. […]
Utah Officials Give Green Light For Industrial Hemp Production
Utah Farmers now have the rules and regulations in place to grow industrial hemp. Lawmakers in this year’s legislative session passed two bills giving the Department of Agriculture and Food the task of organizing an industrial hemp program for local producers. Three years ago the farm bill allowed pilot programs to grow industrial hemp for […]
Salt Lake City Radio Station Pulls Anti-Marijuana Ads After Complaints
At least one Salt Lake City-area radio station has stopped airing an advertisement opposing Utah’s Proposition 2 after complaints that the spot included false and misleading statements about medical marijuana. Kayvon Motiee, president of Broadway Media, said the ad by the Drug Safe Utah coalition is no longer airing on 101.5 The Eagle (KEGA), the […]
Mormon Church Opposes Utah Medical Marijuana Initiative But Open To Medical Use With Doctor Supervision
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints formally joined the opposition to Utah’s medical marijuana initiative Thursday, adding a powerful voice to a list of opponents that also included dozens of other groups and public figures. But Elder Jack N. Gerard, a general authority Seventy, said the Utah-based faith isn’t opposed to medical marijuana if […]
New Poll Shows over 75 Percent of Utahns Support Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative
Amanda Ellis-Graham’s multiple sclerosis was once so bad she could barely hold a pencil. She suffered from vision and hearing problems. Walking was nearly impossible because of terrible vertigo. Numbness and a sensation of pins and needles slowly spread through her body. Ellis-Graham, now 37, was 18 when she was diagnosed with MS, a debilitating […]
These 11 States May Change Their Marijuana Laws in 2017
After four states legalized recreational marijuana last year and twice that many approved new medical marijuana laws, at least eleven more are considering changing their laws in 2017. Here are the states and the legislation they’re proposing: 1. Connecticut Not only are lawmakers hoping to expand Connecticut’s five-year-old medical marijuana legislation, but Martin Looney, the […]
Poll: Utahns Strongly Support Medical Marijuana Legalization but Oppose Recreational
Two-thirds of Utahns want to legalize medical marijuana prescribed by doctors, a new UtahPolicy poll finds. Expect a medical marijuana bill to be introduced in the 2017 Legislature. Such a bill failed in the 2016 general session after LDS Church leaders warned that such a measure could do more harm than good. UPD pollster Dan Jones & Associates […]
