Utah Governor Says He Will Oppose Expanded Medical Cannabis Ballot Initiative – News

Standard.net/Government/2018/04/01/Utah-Governor-s-opposition-to-medical-marijuana-initiative-draws-fire”>collected enough signatures to place the initiative on this year’s ballot, but the idea of a comprehensive medical cannabis program is a step too far for many conservative politicians in the state.

Last month, Utah lawmakers passed three bills allowing the cultivation, sale, and use of medical cannabis in the state.

Last week, Gov. Gary Herbert released a statement saying that while he was in favor of the new, limited medical cannabis laws, he would actively work to oppose the more comprehensive ballot measure. Despite this, Herbert said that the ballot measure “lacks important safeguards regarding its production and utilization and would potentially open the door to recreational use I believe the consequences of this initiative, even if they are unintended, will do more harm than good. “Saying the most conservatively drafted initiative in the entire country would ‘potentially’ open the door for recreational use is a scare tactic that has no basis in truth. Standard.net/Government/2018/04/01/Utah-Governor-s-opposition-to-medical-marijuana-initiative-draws-fire”>an unscientific Facebook poll by the Standard-Examiner found that 96% of respondents said they supported the ballot initiative. Come November, we are going to see that Utahns are fed up with platitudes and insulting half-measures from weak-kneed politicians who have shown nothing but apathy for those who suffer. “

Schanz has said that his organization has collected around 160,000 signatures on the petition, more than the 113,143 necessary to get the question placed on the ballot. County clerks have already verified 122,000 of these signatures, and are working to confirm the rest by an April 16th deadline. Standard.net/Government/2018/04/01/Utah-Governor-s-opposition-to-medical-marijuana-initiative-draws-fire”>told the Standard-Examiner that he intends to move on to “step two,” which involves “running a traditional campaign to convince those on the fence – and to get the rest out to vote.