Medical Marijuana Advocates Continue Push For New Legislation In Utah

Ron Strider;3417036 said:

Utah advocates for medical cannabis have all but given up on state lawmakers making the kind of progress they believe people battling chronic conditions and severe pain so desperately need.

“I’m frustrated they haven’t done anything legislatively. It’s time they listened to the people — I’m so tired of politicians ignoring the patients,” said Christine Stenquist, co-founder of Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education (TRUCE Utah), a nonprofit organization that describes itself as “a movement by the people, for the people.”

Next Friday, May 26, TRUCE Utah will host a documentary titled “The Scientist” followed by a panel discussion, all aimed at stripping away misconceptions and giving the much-maligned marijuana plant a closer look. The event begins at 6 p.m. at 550 N. University Ave. in Provo.

According to Governing Magazine, as of March 23, 2017, 26 states have legalized marijuana use in some form, with three states set to join that group when their approved legislation takes effect. Seven of those states, plus the District of Columbia, have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Utah remains among 21 states lacking broad legislation to address marijuana use.

During Utah’s 2016 Legislative session, patient advocates hung their hopes on former state Sen. Mark Madsen’s bill to legalize whole plant medical marijuana. While that measure passed the Senate, a House committee voted it down. And no bills garnered patient advocate support during 2017’s General Session where lawmakers passed legislation authorizing research and laying groundwork for future efforts.

State lawmakers expect to take another crack at medical marijuana legislation in 2018, but TRUCE Utah members intend to act sooner and launch their ballot initiative drive this June.

“All we can do is push forward,” Stenquist said. “We’re on the right side of history and science supports it.”

Getting the word out

“The Scientist” documentary that TRUCE Utah will feature next Friday tells the story of Raphael Mechoulam, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Israel, and spent his career investigating the chemistry and biology of marijuana.

Mechoulam, considered the father of cannabinoid medicine, is credited with discovering Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis, half a century ago. Mechoulam later learned that THC interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system, and also found that the human brain produces its own cannabis — a chemical named anandamide.

The panel of experts who will speak May 26 include Stenquist; Doug Rice, vice-president of the Epilepsy Association of Utah; Jim Hutchins, a neuroscientist at Weber State University; and others. Hutchins is currently compiling a white paper on medical cannabis.

“My long time interest has been in the chemical signals that go between brain cells,” Hutchins said of his work as a neuroscientist. “So my professional career has been to better understand those types of signals.”

Hutchins said his expertise lies in the combination of chemicals released by one nerve cell, and the receptors that pick it up in another, thus changing its biochemistry or chemical properties.

“Cannabinoids (which are plentiful in cannabis) fit in that category, mimicking a natural chemical called anandamide,” Hutchins said.

Hutchins defined his role with TRUCE Utah: “to help synthesize the medical and peer-reviewed literature, determine its quality, and only pass along that which can be determined to be high quality. I want to stick to what is well validated — and then make sure its understandable.”

Hutchins acknowledged there are many competing interests in play with this complex issue.

“What happens is that people want so much to believe in something, they’ll accept any source that supports their individual world view. I’m trying to be more of a scientist about it,” Hutchins said.

“When we’re getting into the area of public policy, our leaders have to balance risk and reward. We’d be dishonest if we said there was no risk. I know there are rewards.”

Many hurdles to clear

In Utah, the path a statewide initiative must travel to get on the ballot is both challenging and costly. It starts with an application filed with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. If accepted, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget estimates the proposed legislation’s fiscal impact. After that, its sponsors must hold documented public hearings in seven areas of the state.

And then the circulating of petitions and signature-gathering begins. Sponsors must collect signatures of registered Utah voters equal to 10 percent of all votes cast for U.S. President in the most recent general election — statewide that number would be 113,143. But those signatures must come proportionately from at least 26 of Utah’s 29 state senate districts.

Completed petitions must be submitted to county clerks within 316 days of the initiative’s filing — or by April 15 of the regular general election year, whichever comes first — in order to appear on the ballot. County clerks are then tasked with verifying each signature.

Even with state-legalized marijuana, a federal ban remains in place because the plant has been classified as a Schedule 1 drug and criminal penalties apply for its possession and use.

Stenquist said she’s worked with a national advocacy organization called Americans for Safe Access to affect change at the federal level, their most recent effort a reworking of the stalled 2015 CARERS Act. CARERS stands for Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States. In its current form, the measure would ease banking regulations related to growing marijuana, downgrade its classification from Schedule I to Schedule II, and amend the Controlled Substances Act to exempt medical marijuana in states where it has been legalized.

According to GovTrack, CARERS has 14 Democrat and three Republican co-sponsors in the Senate, and an identical House bill, has 19 Democrat and 12 Republican cosponsors. But neither have advanced to a vote.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee has not yet signed on as a cosponsor of CARERS, but according to Conn Carroll, his communications director, that status could change.

By email, Carroll said that Lee “had some issues with the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act of 2015 but was supportive of the overall idea.”

Carroll said CARERS has yet to be reintroduced in the Senate this year, but “Sen. Lee is working with the sponsors of the bill to resolve his issues so he can hopefully support the legislation.”

For patient advocates, that day cannot come too soon.

“It’s a good bill,” Stenquist said. “Ideally, I’d like federal prohibition to end.”

News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana advocates continue push for new legislation in Utah
Author: CATHY MCKITRICK
Contact: Contact | Standard-Examiner
Photo Credit: CATHY MCKITRICK
Website: Standard-Examiner

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