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Utah Psychiatric Association opposes medical marijuana ballot initiative

Posted at 4:59 PM, Apr 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-17 22:07:57-04

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Psychiatric Association released an official statement on a medical marijuana initiative Tuesday, which had gathered 200,000 signatures in an attempt to make it on November’s ballot.

“The Utah Psychiatric Association supports UMA’s position opposing the Utah Marijuana Initiative as written,” the statement said.  “We recognize that cannabis may have potential treatment benefits, and we encourage more research to further evaluate these effects.”

The Utah Medical Association (UMA) released a statement saying that it was, “concerned that backers of the Utah Marijuana Initiative are misrepresenting and misappropriating the position of the medical profession in Utah to garner support for their initiative.”

The LDS Church released a similar statement earlier this month, saying it backed the UMA’s stance:

“We commend the Utah Medical Association for its statement of March 30, 2018, cautioning that the proposed Utah marijuana initiative would compromise the health and safety of Utah communities. We respect the wise counsel of the medical doctors of Utah.

The public interest is best served when all new drugs designed to relieve suffering and illness, and the procedures by which they are made available to the public, undergo the scrutiny of medical scientists and official approval bodies.”

Gov. Gary Herbert also said he would oppose the ballot initiative, which has achieved the number of valid signatures needed to go on the ballot in 24 Senate districts.