Support for Proposition 2 wanes week before midterm elections

Next week, Utahns will officially know the results of the midterm elections. This year’s ballot includes a medical marijuana initiative called Proposition 2.

A “yes” vote for “Prop 2” supports legalizing the medical use of marijuana for individuals with qualifying medical illnesses. A “no” vote opposes the legalization of medical marijuana.

 According to The Tribune-Hinckley poll conducted by the Hinckley Institute of Politics, support for Proposition 2 has waned in the last month despite what they describe a strong summer campaign. The poll, released in mid-October, indicates that public support is at about 51 percent, with three percent of voters still undecided.

 Cache Valley resident Ross Davis has had a “#PatientsNotCriminals” sign in his front yard since spring. He said it is important to him to make his voice heard and vote in the midterm elections, adding that he hopes to see this initiative passed.

 “The fact that there is a drug that can help people when nothing else does says enough about the cause for me,” Davis said. “We shouldn’t be criminalizing something that has the power to do good.”

Davis said while he has already voted and has spent much of the year advocating for Proposition 2 he recognizes that there are people against the initiative and that he needs to stay “optimistically-cautious.”

 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a strong opponent of Proposition 2 going as far as emailing Utah members in August to urge voters to vote “no” on the ballot.

 “As a member of the coalition, we urge voters of Utah to vote NO on Proposition 2,” read the email from religious leader, Craig C. Christensen.

 It continued.

 “And join us in a call to state elected officials to promptly work with medical experts, patients and community leaders to find a solution that will work for all Utahns, without the harmful effects that will come to pass if Proposition 2 becomes law.”

 Despite campaigning against the initiative, on Oct. 4, just before the religion’s bi-annual conference, the church repositioned their views on medical marijuana calling for a compromise between state lawmakers and their authorities. The announcement, made in front of an audience at the Utah State Capitol, explained that lawmakers would introduce a bill to legalize medical cannabis whether Proposition 2 is passed or not.

 The church’s proposal says that there could be a total of five privately operated dispensaries in Utah and one publicly controlled one. This differs from Proposition 2 which would allow one dispensary per 150,000 residents. Proposition 2 also allows marijuana to be grown in homes, while the compromise restricts it.

This type of deal isn’t new for the church, which has had its say in many other laws in the state, including the sale of alcohol. For example, the “Zion curtains” liquor law separates bartenders preparing alcoholic drinks from the customers who order them in Utah restaurants.

 “It’s not fair,” Davis said. “We all live in this state and yet even if Proposition 2 is passed, what we are voting for could be extremely different from what actually becomes law. I think people just fear what they don’t know.”

 Some of these fears include the idea that more people will be driving while under the influence of marijuana. However, medical marijuana does not contain enough tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical compound responsible for the “high” found in recreational marijuana. Instead, medical marijuana contains cannabidiol (CBD), which does not produce a “high.”

 Matthew Wappett, the director of the Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities told Utah Public Radio that he believes many adults make the choice to become a criminal because their only other option is to go on living with their conditions. This has been the predominant argument from supporters of the proposition, claiming that not passing it would continue to criminalize medical patients.

Peter Grinspoon, MD of Harvard Medical School, said in an article that medical marijuana helps relieve insomnia, anxiety, spasticity and pain in patients. It can also be used to treat life-threatening conditions like epilepsy.

 Senator Jim Dabakis (D-Salt Lake) tried marijuana in Las Vegas for the first time before the state legislature convenes to address the compromise. While streaming his experience in a Facebook Live video, he said that he thought it was “about time that at least one legislator knew a little bit about marijuana.”

Dabakis went on to say that he “survived the experience” and endorsed Proposition 2.

 If Proposition 2 passes, individuals with qualifying medical conditions would be able to receive a medical marijuana card and purchase two ounces of unprocessed marijuana or 10 grams of THC at dispensaries across the state in a 14-day period. Individuals would be prohibited from smoking marijuana but as of January 1, 2021, would be able to grow up to six marijuana plants for personal use if there are no dispensaries within 100 miles. Marijuana sales would be exempt from local and state sales taxes.

 Whether the initiative passes or not, Utah Governor Gary Herbert has called for the state legislature to create a medical marijuana policy for Utah in November.

 “Whether it passes or fails, we’re going to arrive at the same point and conclusion, which is going to be of benefit to the people of Utah,” Herbert said in Salt Lake City while discussing what he called a “shared vision.”

 Proposition 2 is estimated to cost the state $3.6 million in one-time setup costs. Annual revenue is expected to cover the initiative’s expected annual cost of $2.1 million.  

 Governor Herbert and The Utah Medical Association have both argued against Proposition 2, the latter claiming that it is “paving the way for recreational use of cannabis in Utah” and slammed the supporting side for using images and stories of suffering patients to “disguise their true aim.”

 Utah State alumnus John R. Miller is one of the top donors to the oppositions campaign, donating $100,000 of the over $960,000 raised.

 Currently there are only four states that have no laws supporting medical marijuana or cannabis oil. Surrounding Utah, with the exception of Idaho, are states that have passed laws legalizing or decriminalizing medical marijuana.

 To vote in Utah, residents must be over the age of 18 and registered online or in person. Polls close at 8 p.m. on Nov 6 for registered voters and early voting is currently underway across the state.

— erickwood97@gmail.com

@GrahamWoodMedia