Utah House passes medical cannabis law with a margin of more than two-thirds to replace its voting initiative

The Medical Cannabis Bill that could replace Proposal 2 allowed the House of Representatives of Utah to be cleared after more than two hours of debate during the extraordinary session on Monday.

The 60-13 vote is largely collapsed at the party line level, with Democrats in the House arguing that the Legislature should not dismiss voters who have supported the party. election initiative at last month's election.

However, President Greg Hughes, who defended the ground bill, argued that the law is the product of inclusive public deliberations

"I am proud of the process we have followed because we had more public and official hearings and more informal hearings than any other piece of legislation we had, "he told members of the House. On Monday.

The bill is currently being considered by the Senate of Utah. He has already won more than two-thirds of the vote in the House and if the threshold was the same in the Senate, it could come into force upon signature by the governor.

Alternative legislation developed by legislators and both parties to the debate on Proposal 2 revokes the medical cannabis distribution system proposed by the Voting Initiative and contains a more robust monitoring and follow-up plan .

The bill significantly reduces the number of private medical marijuana outlets compared to proposal 2; while the voting initiative would allow up to 40 dispensaries, the legislation only allows for seven "pharmacies" of cannabis. Much of the distribution would be managed by the state, with cannabis orders delivered to local health departments for recovery.

While prop 2 allowed food products, the bill largely forbids them, although it makes an exception for gelatin cubes. The legislation also amends the list of diseases eligible for cannabis treatments, removing most autoimmune diseases, with the exception of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

During the debate, the representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck presented her own bill, which would have "We have retained most of the Prop 2 while providing technical corrections deemed necessary."

When voters the state speak as they did, legislators should "stay in our hallway," she said. "Utah lawmakers preach not to play the role of nanny and overly regulate the lives of Residents, Chavez-Houck continued, D-Salt Lake City.

"But when I look at what we do … it flies," she said.

While her fellow Democrats supported her proposal, it was rejected by majority

This story will be updated by The Salt Lake Tribune