Utah: Best Cannabis Law Ever!
In December, when Governor Gary Herbert, (former) House Speaker Greg Hughes, and the Utah Legislature undid the people’s medical cannabis initiative (Prop 2) and replaced it with HB 3001, they were quick to applaud themselves. Governor Gary Herbert declared it “the best-designed medical cannabis program in the country.” Hey, California, Arizona, Illinois: Suck it!
Though Utah could have drawn from the working experience of numerous cannabis states, the Legislature decided (was ordered) to craft a nonsensical scheme out of whole cloth.
The Utah Bee has previously reported that the scheme will not work. One big reason is that HB 3001 would make Utah the only state where state employees will deal schedule I controlled substances. Not going to happen. Another reason the “Best Ever” law will fail is that the cumulative economic burden the law places on every minor step of growing, processing, and distributing cannabis would make the end product cost prohibitive to patients (were it ever to actually to make cannabis available, which it will not as written).
But, even before Utah’s Wile E. Coyote cannabis law runs off those cliffs, the “Best Ever” law already can be evaluated by its first three encounters with ACME products. (Remember: the sales job on the repeal of Prop 2 was that the differences made in HB 3001 were no big deal.).
Mass Uncertainty and Danger for Patients
The point of Prop 2 was to decriminalize cannabis for patients. The motto of TRUCE, the patients advocate group that ran the Initiative, is “Patients Not Criminals.” Prop 2 would have done that. At this point, any patient with cannabis would have enjoyed an “affirmative defense” against legal charges. If patients could prove the had a qualifying condition, they were legally safe.
Under HB 3001, that safe harbor was taken away, making all patients criminals once again. Under HB 3001, no patient can meet the nonsensical criteria of the “affirmative defense” at this time (and likely not for a long time, if ever). Every single (non-CBD) cannabis user in Utah is using illegally. Again, HB 3001’s affirmative defense provision was created from whole cloth, rather than following another State’s existing law that—you know—works. When medical cannabis laws are working in so many other states, why would the Legislature avoid copying laws that already have been tested and proven to work: arrogance, stupidity, or bad intentions?
Veterans Were Harmed
Veterans were particularly harmed by the repeal of Prop 2. Under Prop 2, PTSD was a “qualifying condition” for possessing medical cannabis. Simple. VA records would have been enough. No longer. The Governor, (former) Speaker Hughes, and the Legislature did away with that. Now, Veterans with PTSD must meet additional steps. Veteran Drew Howells summarizes, “3001 basically wrote Veterans out of the process.” He states that the provisions of the replacement cannabis law now force veterans to doctor shop in the private sector, a requirement that many cannot meet.
Providers can’t help patients meet the requirements of the “Best Ever” law
Because the “Best Ever” law is such a mess, Dr. Andrew Talbott is one of the few health care providers in Utah who is willing to work with patients on cannabis possibilities. Though Dr. Talbott would have been able to help many patients under Prop 2, he says that he will not even attempt to meet the requirements of HB 3001, should they ever be implemented. Why? He could lose his ability to prescribe all medications.
As The Utah Bee reported since Prop 2 opponents first announced the “compromise,” doctors can only “recommend” medical cannabis. They cannot “prescribe” cannabis, as the LDS Church initially would have required. Because this poison pill was so easily apparent, medical cannabis opponents shifted from “prescribe” to “recommend in dosage form.” As The Utah Bee reported—and as Dr. Talbott confirmed this week—“recommend in dosage form” is just an alternative way of saying “prescribe.” Dr. Talbott—and all providers—would fall out of the safe harbor that exists in all other medical cannabis states, were they to follow Utah’s “recommend in dosage form” requirement.
To me, the “Best Ever” cannabis law would allow patients to actually possess and use cannabis. The “Worst Ever” cannabis law would not. It’s a simple Utah Syn-crete/Cold Fusion analysis: beyond the talk and celebrations, to not be total crap, the thing actually has to work.
Both sides in a battle have “best ever” goals. One side’s “best ever” is the other side’s “worst ever.” To really judge whether Utah’s cannabis law is the “best ever,” we need to know the intent of the people who are praising themselves. Why did they repeal Prop 2 and replace it with HB 3001?
Remember that (former) Speaker Hughes and most of the Utah Legislature were very opposed to medical cannabis before the LDS (Mormon) Church changed course in August and told them they were for medical cannabis, IF it met conditions the church would dictate later. It is possible that the opposition’s strategy changed but the intent didn’t. If the intent of repealing Prop 2 and replacing it with HB 3001 was to put words on paper that dishonestly ensure patients will not actually receive medical cannabis, then, yes, HB 3001 is amazing. Already it has failed in 3 huge ways. Hiding “NO!” in 6151 lines of text that are supposed to say “yes” is evil genius. Houdini couldn’t do that. If HB 3001 is meant to fail like Syn-crete and Cold Fusion, then it clearly is the best-designed cannabis law ever.