Utah Senate Passes Medical Cannabis Legalization Bill
In a 15 to 13 vote Utah’s full Senate has given approval to a bill that would legalize non-smokable forms of cannabis – such as edibles, topicals and oils – for medical use.
Senate Bill 73 would allow those with a qualifying condition who receives a recommendation from a physician to possess and use cannabis medicines. Qualifying conditions include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), HIV/AIDS, cancer and chronic pain, among others. The proposal would authorize dispensaries to distribute the medicine to patients.
“I don’t want to let them down”, Senator Mark Madsen – the bill’s sponsor -said prior to the vote, referring to people in the state who could benefit from medical cannabis. “Please help Doug and Ashley and Adam and Carter, please help hundreds of patients who anxiously await our action today. Don’t let them down!”
The Senate also voted to pass a seperate, more conservative medical cannabis oil bill, Senate Bill 89; that measure passed on an 18 to 8 vote.
