Apparently, Jon Huntsman Sr. is not alone in his devout beliefs or his support of medical marijuana. According to a new poll, a majority of Utah’s “active” members of the Mormon church are joining Huntsman in his support of the medicinal herb.
Organized by UtahPolicy.com and tallied by Dan Jones & Associates, the survey was conducted from Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, 2017, and queried 608 registered voters.
The results from the poll showed 63 percent of Utah’s “active” members of the Mormon church support medical marijuana.
Even a majority of voters who consider themselves “very conservative” support the legalization of medical marijuana in Utah.
Historically resistant to all things cannabis, leaders of the Mormon faith have systematically fought any attempt to legalize medical marijuana in Utah over the past several years. On course for a philosophical showdown in 2018, the church has opposed an initiative to legalize medical marijuana that is now gathering signatures to qualify for the November 2018 ballot.
Utah Medical Marijuana Support by the Numbers
- Utah Republican Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 61-35%
- Utah Democrats Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 93-7%
- Utah Independents Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 87-13%
- “Very Active” Mormons Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 63%
- “Somewhat Active” Mormons Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 80-20%
- “Very Conservative” Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 51-42%
- “Somewhat Conservative” Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 71-25%
- “Moderates” Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 84-14%
- “Somewhat Liberal” Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 92-8%
- “Very Liberal” Support for 2018 Medical Marijuana Initiative: 97-2%
Rejecting the overtly “cautious approach” advised by Utah’s Mormon leaders, the overwhelming majority of Utahns support the 2018 marijuana initiative.
As summarized by the Utah Patients Coalition, the 2018 initiative would create a system of medical marijuana dispensariessimilar to pharmacies but dedicated to the distribution of marijuana’s medicinal cannabinoids in a smokeless form. If passed, the petition would maintain prohibitions against home cultivation (until 2021), and prohibit any public smoking or driving under the influence of medical marijuana. After Jan. 1, 2021, Utah’s patients living more than 100 miles from a dispensary would be allowed to cultivate cannabis, provided certain conditions are met.
In the below YouTube video, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a devout Mormon, introduced new legislation that seeks to improve and streamline the process for conducting scientific research on marijuana.
