Medical marijuana push spreads to Utah, Oklahoma

These tiny steps--state by state, one or two diseases at a time is so cruel to those people who face criminal prosecution if not not the approved list.



Medical marijuana push spreads to Utah, Oklahoma

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/medical/article/Medical-marijuana-push-spreads-to-Utah-Oklahoma-12839926.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social

Brady Mccombs, Associated Press


April 16, 2018 Updated: April 19, 2018 5:33am



Rebecca Frodsham points to her husband's surgical scars, at their home Monday, April 16, 2018, in Murray, Utah. Nathan Frodsham suffers from cervical arthritis and disc disease. Voters in Utah this November ... more

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The push for legalized marijuana has moved into Utah and Oklahoma, two of the most conservative states in the country, further underscoring how quickly feelings about marijuana are changing in the United States.


If the two measures pass, Utah and Oklahoma will join 30 other states that have legalized some form of medical marijuana, according to the pro-pot National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana laws. Nine of those states and Washington, D.C. also have broad legalization where adults 21 and older can use pot for any reason. Michigan could become the 10th state with its ballot initiative this year.

Utah and Oklahoma already are among 16 states that allow use of an oil called cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound from cannabis that doesn't get users high but can treat a range of health concerns.

Justin Strekal, political director for NORML, is confident the Utah and Oklahoma measures will pass.

"America's appetite for cannabis is not going away," Strekal said. "We are in the death rattles of prohibition."

Marijuana legalization efforts have faced some pushback from religions before — including in 2016 in Arizona and Nevada from the Mormon church, and the same year from the Catholic Church in Massachusetts. But not to the scale they could face this year in Utah, where Mormons account for about two-third of the population, said Matthew Schweich, executive director of the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project.

Mormons have long frowned upon marijuana use because of a key church health code called the "Word of Wisdom," which prohibits the use of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came out against the proposal this month, saying in a statement drugs designed to ease suffering should be tested and approved by government officials first. The church said it respects the "wise counsel" of doctors, and commended the Utah Medical Association for opposing it. The association has accused organizers of trying to disguise their intention of simply paving the way for legalizing recreational marijuana.............................................





Rebecca Frodsham points to her husband's surgical scars, at their home Monday, April 16, 2018, in Murray, Utah. Nathan Frodsham suffers from cervical arthritis and disc disease. Voters in Utah this November will consider a ballot initiative that would legalize medical marijuana for people with certain chronic conditions. Photo: Rick Bowmer, AP / Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Photo: Rick Bowmer, AP
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