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Cease-fire declared in lawsuit over medical marijuana ballot initiative

Posted at 2:09 PM, Oct 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-15 16:09:59-04

SALT LAKE CITY — A cease-fire has been declared in a lawsuit seeking to block medical marijuana from going on the November ballot.

In a joint motion, backers of “Truth About Proposition 2” and Lt. Governor Spencer Cox’s Office agreed to halt the lawsuit until after Election Day.

“The parties are filing this joint motion because they agree that awaiting the results of the Utah General Election will promote judicial economy and promote efficiency because the election may moot, narrow and/or clarify the issues in this case,” Truth About Prop. 2 attorney Kenneth Melrose wrote.

Truth About Prop. 2’s lawsuit to block the medical marijuana ballot initiative from going before voters had already been dealt a death blow when U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups refused to grant their request for an expedited hearing on a restraining order. Now, the deadlines have been pushed to past Election Day.

The lawsuit originally claimed Prop. 2 would violate the religious beliefs of faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, when the LDS Church said it was not opposed to regulated medical cannabis programs (just opposed to Prop. 2 itself) the lawsuit changed its argument to claim private property owners’ rights would be infringed.