The state of Utah is currently embroiled in a nasty fight over a medical marijuana ballot initiative set to be voted on this November. Unless a judge decides he doesn’t like it.
Drug Safe Utah filed a lawsuit last week to prevent a medical marijuana initiative from making it onto the ballot this November. In the lawsuit, they argue that allowing medical marijuana onto the ballot should not be allowed because the drug is still illegal at the federal level. They say state employees would be aiding and abetting criminals by allowing this medical marijuana initiative to continue.
Of course, that would mean that the state governments of the 29 states that have already legalized medical marijuana are also criminals and breaking federal law, so we’re not sure why Utah would be singled out by the feds.
The lawsuit is actually Drug Safe Utah’s plan B. Their first plan was to get people who originally signed the petition to allow the medical marijuana ballot initiative to rescind their signatures, thus invalidating the petition. But the lawsuit seems to suggest that those efforts were not successful.
Advocates in favor of the medical marijuana initiative argue that the courts should drop the lawsuit and leave the issue up to the voters to decide, not a single judge.
The lieutenant governor’s office will decide by June 1st whether or not to certify the medical marijuana ballot initiative. If they approve it, then the lawsuit will get its hearing in court.
I’m sure everyone expected Utah to become the most heated medical marijuana battleground of this decade.