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Medical Marijuana is Up for Consideration Again in Utah

Utah lawmakers are reconsidering medical marijuana. The state’s Health and Human Services Committee met Wednesday to begin identifying the issues it will study before the next legislative session. 

Legislation that would have legalized the sale and use of medical cannabis failed by just one vote in the state Senate last session. The bill’s sponsor Republican Senator Mark Madsen made the case for in depth study of the issue.

“What is going to be the greatest challenge I think in moving this forward is to push past generations of propaganda and misleading information to get to the reality of this substance,” Madsen told the committee.

Republican Representative Timothy Hawkes said this issue needs careful consideration.

“I think it’s critical that we emphasize science over anecdote,” Hawkes said. “I think it’s important that we are hearing from voices that can take an objective view, and that we really emphasize sound science, sound medical policy and that we pull on experts that know a lot more than we do here.”

Lawmakers agreed they needed more meetings to consider the issue with the help of experts and stakeholders. 

Andrea Smardon is new at KUER, but she has worked in public broadcasting for more than a decade. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and news announcer for WGBH radio. While in Boston, she produced stories for Morning Edition, Marketplace Money, and The World. Her print work was published in The Boston Globe and Boston.com. Prior to that, she worked at Seattleââ
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