The struggle for patients to gain legal access to medical-use cannabis is facing an uphill battle in the great Beehive State. Support for Proposition 2 only has marginal support of just 1% and it's recent drop in popularity is not a good sign for freedom advocates there.

It appears the main opposition to terminally ill cancer patients having access to their choice in medical treatment, despite the fact the people of Utah have already voted for a right to try bill, seems to be coming from The Church of Latter Day Saints, a very large voting block in the state.

Here is a list of the bullet points from the memorandum they gave to The Salt Lake Tribune. These are their words not mine, I only numbered them for reference.

The Marijuana Initiative Will Allow Some People to Grow Their Own Marijuana.



The Marijuana Initiative Will Allow People Who Grow Their Own Marijuana to Evade Purchase and Use Limits.



The Marijuana Initiative Will Create Significant Challenges for Law Enforcement.



The Marijuana Initiative Requires Medical Marijuana to Be Sold Through Marijuana Dispensaries, Not Licensed Pharmacies.



The Marijuana Initiative Requires the State to Destroy Records of Cannabis Sales after 60 Days, which Will Hamper Law Enforcement.



The Marijuana Initiative Allows Dispensaries to Give Free Samples to Medical Cannabis Cardholders.



Under the Marijuana Initiative, Large Numbers of Utahans Will Likely Qualify for Medical Cannabis Cards.



The Marijuana Initiative Allows a Person With a Criminal Background, Including Drug Convictions, to Get a Medical Cannabis Card.



The Marijuana Initiative Allows Marijuana Use for Conditions That Are Common but Difficult to Verify and Diagnose.



The Marijuana Initiative Allows Patients to Get a Recommendation from a Physician Based on a One-time Visit.



The Marijuana Initiative Will Allow a Small Number of Physicians to Give a Large Number of Recommendations.



The Marijuana Initiative Does Not Require Physicians Providing a Recommendation to Have Any Training or Experience with the Effects of Marijuana or Even the Illness Being Treated.



The Marijuana Initiative Does Not Require a Prescription.



The Marijuana Initiative Does Not Require Monitoring of the Medical Effects of Marijuana Usage on Particular Patients.



The Marijuana Initiative Prohibits Accountability for Physicians.



The Marijuana Initiative Allows Minors to Use Medical Marijuana.



The Marijuana Initiative Will Make Marijuana More Accessible to Minors.



If the Marijuana Initiative Passes, Most Users of Medical Marijuana Will Likely Be Younger People.



The Marijuana Initiative Immediately Legalizes Marijuana Possession Before Medical Cannabis Cards Are Distributed.



The Marijuana Initiative Immediately Legalizes Possession By a Person With a Medical Marijuana Card from Another State.



The Marijuana Initiative Prohibits Landlords from Refusing to Rent to Medical Marijuana Users.



The Marijuana Initiative Prohibits Local Zoning Ordinances Targeted at Marijuana Dispensaries.



The Marijuana Initiative Prohibits Local Law Enforcement from Cooperating With Federal Authorities

Enforcing Federal Laws that Are Violated by Legal Use of Cannabis in Utah.



The Marijuana Initiative Only Requires Cannabis Dispensaries to Be 300 feet (One Football Field) from Residential Neighborhoods and Only 600 Feet from Schools, Churches, Libraries, Parks, and Playgrounds.



The Marijuana Initiative Could Weaken Penalties for Causing Serious Bodily Injury while Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of Marijuana.



The Marijuana Initiative Requires Science to Be Ignored.



The Legislature May Choose Not to Remedy Unintended Consequences.



Marijuana Cultivation, Distribution, and Possession are Federal Crimes with Stern Penalties.



The Marijuana Initiative Will Put Utahans at Serious Risk of Federal Prosecution.



Gun Owners Who Rely on the Marijuana Initiative May Face Severe Federal Sentences



Immigrants Who Rely on the Marijuana Initiative Could Harm Their Immigration Status.

My first reaction to reading through their lists of complaint was, wow that's quite a lot things I support. I can honestly say their problems look more like solutions to the problem of an oppressive government to me. I could go through each one of the items of their extensive list but for the sake of brevity I'm sure I can sum up my opinion a bit quicker and have the same impact.

Number one through eight, well good and great, I want all those things for the people there so they keep their freedom and liberty, these nothing else to it. I don't want to make people criminals for the sake of pushing my ideology so these all seem like positive effects of Prop 2.

When it comes to number nine through fifteen, it seems like they are treading on personal territory that I would like to see kept confidentially between a Dr. and their patient. The idea that these people want to know such private information seems unreasonable to say the least. As for the rest of them, it appears like they are whining about losing control and the power to blame people for things gone wrong in the state. The blame is only required to justify force and robbery so I strongly oppose it.

The next few regarding minors I actually won't argue with, it agree to a point with them. The more anything proliferates, causing more people to have it, leads to more access. It may be the only thing that agrees with common sense in my book but I won't debate those issues. I do not believe we know the effects of cannabis on a developing mind nor am I proponent for finding out through the typical clinical methods. I just don't condone experimenting on minors. I welcome those who may know more about it to comment and expand the conversation if you believe you have some facts to share.

The rest of the complaints listed mainly concern the limiting effect the new law will have on federal law enforcement, to which like I said before about local law enforcement I think it's great less people will be robbed and imprisoned, and what I consider petty fear mongering. I want to reign in what I consider a government that has crossed the line and have abused their authority so this goes beyond cannabis to a person like me. The petty regulations they want to impose look unconstitutional to me so it rings of hypocrisy more than anything else I would say.

The only real gem in there is number twenty six, that is an amazing statement. I really don't want to insult the wonderful people of The church of Latter Day Saints but I'm shocked they decided to go there of all places. I'm going to bite my tongue though because this article is really meant to be positive and support the tireless cannabis advocates working for a better future for everyone there.

I truly encourage everyone who has read this far to dig into the full letterand hear out more than just the bullet points I put into this article because they do flesh out their point of view and give more about each of the problems they bring up. It didn't do much to change my mind but ending the war on drugs is more than a Libertarian talking point to me. It really is the way to a better society and I feel they fears are being addressed in other states and have proven to be overhyped at best in my mind.

Please go out and vote for freedom this November if you live in Utah, the rest of the country is depending on your leadership on this important issue.

Check out @canna-curate for posts like this one as well as my Live show on Green House Radio every Friday at 8pm UTC brought to you by the Canna-Curate Discord channel.







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Let me know what your favorite point is and why in the comments and I will respond and upvote asap.

Thank you for reading and have a great day.