Advocates hoping to place an initiative on Utah’s midterm election ballot next year will officially launch their signature collection campaign on Thursday.
The Utah Patients Coalition, backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, will kick off the signature collection campaign at a Thursday morning event at the Gallivan Center in Salt Lake City.
Volunteers will begin collecting signatures in downtown Salt Lake City immediately following the event, which will include a press conference and speeches from campaign leaders, patients and suporters.
Last week, the group’s proposal, the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, received approval from the state to begin collecting signatures.
The group needs to collect over 113,000 valid signatures to qualify for the November 2018 ballot.
“We plan to gather the first signatures by next week and be finished prior to the 2018 legislative session in January,” said DJ Schanz, campaign co-director for Utah Patients Coalition. “Our volunteers—many of them patients or caregivers themselves—have been ready and eagerly waiting; it feels good to know we will have scheduled events in the coming weeks for those who have waited years for this.”
The proposed initiative would allow patients with certain qualifying conditions to legally and safely access medical cannabis with the recommendation of their doctor.
It limits the number of dispensaries and cultivators, allows local zoning for medical cannabis facilities, prohibits using medical cannabis in public view, maintains the illegality of driving while intoxicated, and closely mirrors the legislation passed by the Utah Senate in 2016.
Recent polling has found that an overwhelming majority of Utah voters support the proposal.
Information for those wishing to donate or help gather signatures will be posted at UtahPatients.org.
credit:420intel.com
