Proposition 2, a medical marijuana initiative that would allow treatment in the state of Utah, was voted for in November of 2018.
With the voting of the bill came many that were opposed and many that were in favor. Medical marijuana has been used not to cure, but to assist in the treatment of serious medical conditions such as cancer, epilepsy and more.
A medical marijuana compromise was passed by Utah lawmakers in December that would ultimately replace the voter-approved initiative. Republican legislative announced that there is not intention to consider any major changes to the compromise this year.
This compromise will replace Proposition 2 with a more restrictive law for the use of medical marijuana in the state. This decision was made by the GOP-controlled legislature during a special session in December. This compromise was born out of discussion among the Utah House and Senate leaders.
The house and leaders were joined by the Utah Patients Coalition, Libertas Institute, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Utah Medical Association. Half of these groups were opposed to the bill while half were in favor. Also following the compromise, Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education (TRUCE) and the Epilepsy Association of Utah have sued the state of Utah in regards to the changing of the law.
While many Democrats were in opposition to the compromise, no bills were filed to restore the proposition before the legislature began its 45-day session that began last week. Only one bill has been introduced at this point, HB106, that was proposed by Representative Marsha Judkins.
HB106 requests to add autoimmune disorders to the list of conditions that qualify for treatment by medical marijuana. While those conditions were originally included in Prop. 2, they were then removed when the compromise was composed. Rep. Judkins stated that she proposed this bill when many came forward in distress over conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis not being covered by the compromise.
Rep. Judkins acknowledges that there have been many discussions and changes that have gone into the compromise and the addition may open many discussions on additional conditions to the bill.
“I feel like most of the voters in Utah did vote for Prop. 2 with the expectation that these conditions would be covered,” Rep. Judkins said.
At this time, HB106 has not been approved or denied and while minor tweaks may be considered, the legislature will stand by their statement of not considering major changes for the 2019 year.