Medical Marijuana to

appear on 2018 ballot?

Dec. 7, 2017

Local volunteers with the Utah Patients Coalition have been collecting signatures in Sanpete County for several weeks.

The petitions that are now circulating in our county are designed to put the medical cannabis initiative on the Utah ballot for 2018 so Utah voters can vote on the legalization of medical cannabis. Over 113,000 signatures from registered Utah voters must be collected by April 2018.

The initiative, which limits use of cannabis to medical need only, can be read in its entirety at http://www.utahpatients.org

Volunteering for this project has been a journey that has opened my eyes to the vast number of people who are suffering here in our county because of the laws that have limited patient access to the cannabis herb that brings relief from pain, minimizes and may even eliminate seizures in children and adults, aids with cancer and chemotherapy, can help many suffering from autoimmune diseases and more.

More than 2,400 of the more fortunate families who suffer from these and other conditions have moved from Utah to Colorado in order to get the relief they or their loved ones need.

The less fortunate wish for that opportunity and look forward to a time when medical cannabis will be legal in Utah. This is a humanitarian effort for residents and voters in Utah.

The basic points (taken from the Utah Patients website) are that the initiative is designed to protect terminally and seriously ill patients with specific debilitating medical conditions from arrest and prosecution if they are using medical cannabis pursuant to their doctor’s recommendation.

Further it prohibits public use of cannabis, prohibits driving under the influence of cannabis,  prohibits smoking cannabis and will allow monitoring through an established electronic verification system administered by the Utah Department of Health.

It will establish restrictions on the locations of medical cannabis businesses, require thorough testing of medical cannabis for potency and contaminants and require that medical cannabis be appropriately labeled and securely packaged.

It also allows local governments to require cannabis businesses to obtain a local license and to impose restrictions on cannabis dispensary operations.

As I visit with people who have signed these petitions, I’ve been moved by the passion and the heartfelt stories of pain and suffering among those who are afflicted and by people who suffer along with those they love.

Cannabis is a natural herb that was used from ancient times up to our recent past. Its healing properties have been described in ancient texts and are being studied in universities. Peer-reviewed scientific research studies are online at Google Scholar.

I will be collecting signatures this week from 3-6 p.m., weather permitting, in Fountain Green today, in Chester (2:30 p.m.) and Moroni tomorrow and in Mt. Pleasant on Saturday. I will have a booth set up on the Main Street in each location. Call me at 851-9045 to arrange to meet, or for alternate meeting locations.

Kathy’s Herb Shop in Mt. Pleasant is also taking signatures during business hours.

Joanne Taylor

Ephraim