The LDS Church on Friday released a memo describing what it views as “legal issues” surrounding a ballot initiative in support of medical marijuana in Utah.
Compiled by the Salt Lake City law firm Kirton McConkie, the seven-page document raises a variety of legal issues, with claims that the initiative would allow some people to grow as many as six marijuana plants; create “significant challenges for law enforcement”; and see large numbers of Utahns qualifying for medical cannabis cards, among many other legal concerns.
It is the second time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has weighed in on the marijuana ballot initiative, which aims to secure a spot on the November ballot. Last month, the church released a statement that commended the Utah Medical Association (UMA) for opposing the initiative. “We respect the wise counsel of the medical doctors of Utah,” it said.
The Friday memo was more strongly worded, effectively offering 31 reasons the Mormon church opposes medical marijuana legalization.
“The memorandum raises grave concerns about this initiative and the serious adverse consequences that could follow if it were adopted,” LDS Church spokeswoman Karlie Guymon said via email. “We invite all to read the memorandum and to make their own judgment.”
Guymon added that “the negative effects and consequences of marijuana use on individuals, families, and society at large are well-known.”
The statement comes as debate over the ballot initiative has heated up dramatically in recent weeks.
The Utah Patients Coalition currently has enough signatures to get the legalization question on the ballot, but an opposition group has begun trying to persuade some petition signers to remove their names before a Tuesday deadline. Both opponents and supporters have accused the other of misconduct.
On Friday, the Utah Patients Coalition announced it planned to bring a lawsuit against the opposition group, called Drug Safe Utah, whose members include the UMA, the Utah Eagle Forum and a local task force of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Coalition members said Drug Safe Utah had carried out a “number of fraudulent activities” in trying to persuade people to remove their names from the initiative. They alleged opponents were using several deceptive tactics, and cited a video, apparently recorded by a voter, showing a canvasser from the opposition group making several misstatements — including that she was an employee of a county clerk’s office.
UMA spokesman Mark Fotheringham said the coalition’s claims had no merit.
“Most of the allegations directed against the name-removal campaign could be equally applied to the signature-gathering campaign,” Fotheringham said in an email, calling it a “last-minute maneuver” to try and slow down the removal campaign’s efforts.
Letter to Drug Safe Utah, Et Al. by The Salt Lake Tribune on Scribd
The Utah Patients Coalition also responded to the LDS Church memo Friday.
“We respect the opinions of those who disagree and look forward to rebutting their fear-based arguments in the months ahead,” said a written statement from DJ Schanz, the group’s director.
Schanz added that the group’s “tightly controlled proposal — one of the most conservative in the country — preserves the doctor-patient relationship” and ensures people can use marijuana for medical purposes “without fear of criminal punishment.”
Among the legal concerns raised by the LDS Church in the memo: