Marty Stephens, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ government and community relations director, indicated in an interview with Fox 13, that the church would not be weighing in on every cannabis bill that came through the legislative session.
“We think the state is in a pretty good position right now for medical cannabis. It’s our intent now to let the legislature manage this issue. We’re not going to get involved in which doctor should be prescribing, which conditions should be covered. We believe there’s a good compromise in place now and it’s not an issue the Church intends to engage on further going forward,” Stephens explained.
“Unless something wildly different comes up, certainly if recreational marijuana comes in, we may engage. But as far as tweaking the compromise that’s there, this is not an issue the Church will engage in going forward.”
Reacting to Stephens’ comments, the Utah Patients Coalition group’s executive director, Desiree Hennessy stated, “Our goal has always been to provide patients a medical cannabis plan where medical decisions are made between patients and their doctors. We look forward to working directly with legislators to expand the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, allowing patients and their medical providers access to the best treatment options.”