SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah’s Republican-controlled Senate narrowly rejected a bill Monday night allowing those with chronic and debilitating diseases to consume edible medical marijuana products.
Senators voted 15-14 against the proposal, citing concerns about unintended consequences and trouble with the language that they said needed to be studied later this year.
Saratoga Springs Republican Sen. Mark Madsen sponsored the bill, which would have forbidden the smoking of marijuana but allowed businesses to grow marijuana and sell pot-infused products such as brownies, candy and lozenges.
Mr. Madsen has said that if Utah could push past years of propaganda and misunderstanding surrounding the drug, it would bring compassion and freedom to those who are suffering.
He also said medical pot has become a states’ rights issue to push back against the federal government’s overreach.
“I am disheartened by the fear that seems to be the underlying theme of the opposition,” Mr. Madsen said Monday night.
Republican Gov. Gary Herbert and Republican House Speaker Greg Hughes have said they’re concerned the bill could lead to recreational consumption.
If Utah had passed the measure, it would have joined 23 states and the District of Columbia where medical marijuana programs are already in place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Sen. Allen Christensen, R-Ogden, said he worried the bill has unintended consequences and it’s not worth setting up the state for a conflict with the federal government. The federal government considers marijuana use and possession for any purpose illegal, though Congress passed a law in December that blocks the Justice Department from raiding medical marijuana dispensaries in states that permit them.
Cedar City Republican Sen. Evan Vickers, a pharmacist, said he was concerned that under the Utah proposal, dispensaries would not be properly regulated.
“Even if you’re intrigued about the idea of medical marijuana, I’m sure that you’ll agree with me that we should do it correctly,” Mr. Vickers said Monday. “I know that the senator is trying to move in that direction, but it’s not there.”
Mr. Madsen has said he began researching the issue after having back pain for years. When his doctor recently recommended a marijuana treatment, Mr. Madsen traveled to Colorado to try it through cannabis-infused gummy bears and an electronic-cigarette device.
He said he found the treatment effective. If his doctor agreed it would let him use fewer or no prescription painkillers, Mr. Madsen said he’d consider taking a cannabis product again.
Mr. Madsen’s bill would have issued medical marijuana cards that would serve as their prescription and as a debit card to process their payments for the drug. The proposal specified which conditions would be eligible, such as AIDS, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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