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SALT LAKE CITY – After more than a year of seemingly insurmountable and sometimes embittered debate over the future of marijuana for medical purposes in Utah, several key players announced Thursday a global compromise on the issue that they hope to get passed by law.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert called for a special session of the Utah legislature after the November election to discuss a new "shared vision" of cannabis policy for medical purposes .
Deseret News first announced the deal on Tuesday following recent private talks involving legislative and other leaders. Herbert officially announced this compromise on Thursday, framed in Parliament by lawmakers and groups who were so vehemently opposed to the merits of Proposition 2.
Proposal 2 remains on the ballot and can not be changed before polling day. In November, voters will have the opportunity to say yes or no to the extent as it is now.
Those in favor and against the initiative remain in disagreement as to whether proposal 2 should be adopted, but suggested that regardless of the results of election day, the policies agreed upon in the context of a broad compromise should ultimately be adopted by the legislature at the special session.
Hébert confirmed the holding of the special session, whether or not the voters vote on the proposal 2.
"Whether it passes or fails, we will reach the same point and the same conclusion, which will benefit the people of Utah," said the governor.
The leaders of both House and Senate said they believed they had the necessary votes to adopt the compromise at the special session.
The Utah Patient Coalition also announced Thursday that it would buy more ads in the media promoting Proposition 2, although it remains supportive of the adoption of this measure. On the other side of the problem, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Utah Medical Association have stated that they would do the same and do not not actively fighting for his defeat, although they remained opposed to it.
Other people present to support Thursday's announcement include Connor Boyack, president of the Libertas Institute, the largest donor in the campaign for this initiative; the rt. Reverend Scott B. Hayashi, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah; and Mark Madsen, a medical marijuana advocate and a former senator, who sponsored a bill that failed legalization at the Utah legislature in 2016.
The compromises
Among the proposed compromise policies, which have been drafted in the form of a draft law, are amendments to the provisions of proposal 2 on how marijuana for medical purposes can be ingested, where and how it can be used. would be sold and what is considered a prerequisite for a cannabis card for medical purposes. .
Compromise wording limits the forms in which a person may use marijuana for medical purposes in the form of a tablet, capsule, concentrated oil, liquid suspension, topical substance, skin patch, sublingual pill, chewable or dissolving cube, or unprocessed marijuana flower broken into blister in which each blister, or pouch, does not exceed 1 gram. In limited circumstances, a marijuana resin or wax could also be used.
Each of these treatment methods should be divided into "single dosage form" and contain "specific and consistent content …".
Unlike the compromise wording, proposal 2 does not require unprocessed flowers to be sold in blister packs. Marijuana products could also be sold under Proposition 2, but not in the language of compromise.
The compromise text does not allow a person to cultivate his own plants for his personal use. Proposition 2, on the other hand, allows a person to grow up to six of his own plants if he lives more than 100 miles from a dispensary.
Under the compromise as well, marijuana vendors would be known as pharmacies rather than dispensaries, and a licensed pharmacist would be required to work in the facility.
A single state-owned centralized pharmacy would be created and the local health services would be used as pickup locations for marijuana orders for medical purposes. Five pharmacies would be licensed throughout the state unless there is an unexpected request. By contrast, Proposal 2 would allow at least one in each county and more for the most populated counties, including up to eight in Salt Lake County.
The compromise text also brings about slight modifications to the eligibility conditions allowing a person to obtain a medical cannabis card, stating that the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder must come from a psychiatrist , for example.
The compromise maintains the protections preventing homeowners from preventing landlords from sanctioning or revoking a tenant for legally using marijuana for medical purposes, as well as doctors who recommend their use – provisions that had sparked the lure in a lawsuit recently filed by Drug Safe Utah, a committee on political issues defeat proposal 2.
The compromise text also proposes that physicians wishing to recommend cannabis and the pharmacists who provide it should be required to comply with certain continuing education requirements.
Pulling back
Michelle McOmber, CEO of the Utah Medical Association, who has long criticized this proposal, said Thursday that the association had "backed down" since the compromise had been reached and "will not make any buyback in the media "Against Proposition 2. However, McOmber stated that the position of the organization has not changed that the initiative should not be adopted.
Some ads already purchased by the association will still be broadcast, she said.
"We believe that (the compromise) has answered most of the concerns of the medical community," McOmber said.
DJ Schanz, director of the initiative campaign for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes called the Utah Patients Coalition, said he still wanted proposal 2 to be passed in order to "send a message "stating that Utahns" stands beside patients ".
But "regarding the framework and concepts, these are settled," said Schanz, adding that the Utah Patients Coalition would also refrain from buying advertisements promoting the proposal.
"We are determined to defuse all media buying," said Schanz.
Jack N. Gerard, a member of the General Authority of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who contributed to the church's efforts in urging Utahns to vote against Proposition 2 while pushing the state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes under certain stricter conditions. the same commitment.
"While the church remains opposed to proposal 2, and we encouraged people to vote against it … in the same spirit as (Schanz), we will defuse our activities to oppose proposal 2" said Brother Gerard.
Brother Gerard stated that the compromise "creates a favorable environment for patients, their caregivers and children".
Jim Jardine, advisor to Drug Safe Utah, said that he was not yet sure that the policy committee also addresses the ads against the measure. "Some members of our coalition may want to go forward," and there is an understandable hesitation "to slow down until you know that there is an agreement."
Recent discussions
Speaker of the House of Representatives Greg Hughes of R-Draper said he wanted to bring together different aspects of the issue after recently hearing "a lot of what I thought was a great deal of overlap" from opposing groups.
In this state of mind, Hughes first gathered these groups for private talks last month. Those involved included The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Senate Speaker Wayne Niederhauser, Senator Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, The Libertas Institute, the Utah Medical Association, and the Governor's Office. .
"If we could find that ground together, we could grow from there, we did it, we did it and it was slow," Hughes said.
Hughes said the group had quickly learned to put in place compromises in the wording of the law to ensure agreement on certain points.
However, Hughes said the deal "will not necessarily satisfy everyone."
"(But) to families, to patients, to those we represent, to those for whom we defend, I think we are trying to find a solid ground of understanding," he said.
Gerard congratulated Hughes "for bringing us together".
Boyack praised the long process that led to a compromise, as well as the result, stating that "for more than 40 hours of these discussions, we found a common ground".
"Patient access is preserved while resolving their opponents' concerns about possible cannabis abuse," Boyack said.
Madsen, the former US senator whose efforts to legalize marijuana for medical purposes was unsuccessful, said he felt "forced to express my pain and frustration" in the face of "refusal of other stakeholders to sit down and reason together for years while the patient was suffering".
But Madsen said, "Utah's policy will have improved for having this experience."
Hughes and Niederhauser both expressed confidence that they would have the necessary votes in their legislative bodies to pass the compromise agreed in November.
Representative Brad Daw, R-Orem, who has been actively involved in marijuana legislation for medical purposes in Utah, said the doctors to whom he had spoken in the House of Representatives were "ecstatic" to About the compromise and what he expected the rest of the House to follow their example.
The Marijuana Policy Project, a national group that contributed to the drafting of Proposition 2 and the campaign's most lucrative donor, said in a statement, "This agreement is without a doubt a victory for patients in the country." Utah and their families. "
Reviews of deal
Representative Angela Romero of Salt Lake City told Deseret News that she was frustrated with the deal after so many Utahns accepted what was in Proposition 2. She sees this compromise as "a form of repression voters "which undermines the will of those who signed it.
"People have worked so hard to get this on the ballot," Romero said.
Christine Stenquist, founder of the group of patients "Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education," told Deseret News, "We are just skeptical and we need time to look at the 128 pages."
"There are still problems of trust in this legislature," said Stenquist. She therefore believes that supporters should not give up the influence they have on state lawmakers by failing to comply with proposal 2.
"I do not think they should give up their power simply because of a promise," she said.
Walter Plumb, president of Drug Safe Utah, said he was disappointed with the compromise, but that within the coalition of organizations opposed to Proposition 2: "It seems like I'm in the minority at the moment. ;actual hour".
"I always say that it's only the first step toward the real purpose of marijuana for recreational purposes," Plumb said, stating that he only spoke for himself.
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