Utah medical marijuana legislation unlikely to move forward this year

SALT LAKE CITY (Cannabist) — Gov. Gary Herbert is backing the decision by state lawmakers to focus on research about the impact of medical marijuana for certain medical conditions rather than moving forward with broad legalization. Herbert said Friday that the move is the right one because the medical community has concerns and there isn’t enough science to show marijuana is an effective and safe treatment. “Unfortunately, we have just a lot of anecdotal stories, which I don’t discount,” the Republican governor said in a news conference, “But what works for you may not work for me, and vice versa.” Herbert said he’s concerned about ignoring federal marijuana laws. He says if states and the U.S. Attorney’s Office ignore the laws, then the laws should be changed. The governor also said that any medical marijuana program should be limited so the drug could only be prescribed by a doctor and distributed by pharmacists.