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Utah attorney general argues lawmakers didn’t collude with LDS Church in replacing voter-approved medical cannabis initiative

FILE - This Sept. 11, 2018, file photo shows a marijuana plant in the coastal mountain range of San Luis Obispo, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Utah’s Attorney General’s Office is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by medical cannabis advocates that alleged politicians acted on behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in changing a voter-approved medical cannabis initiative.

“Plaintiffs have not alleged facts showing that the Church functioned as theocracy or in tandem with the State on an ongoing basis or that it dominated or directly interfered with state government,” assistant Utah Attorney General Andrew Dymek wrote in the court filing obtained by FOX 13.

“To the contrary, the facts alleged show that the Church, for a limited period of time, simply exercised its constitutional right to engage in free speech on a single matter of public interest [medical marijuana legislation].”

For more, visit FOX 13.

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Editor’s note: FOX 13 and The Salt Lake Tribune are content-sharing partners.