The LDS Church on Tuesday came out against a ballot initiative that would legalize medical marijuana in Utah, a move that followed similar opposition by Gov. Gary Herbert and the powerful Utah Medical Association in recent days.
In a two-paragraph statement, the Utah-based faith commended the state Medical Association for fighting the initiative. “We respect the wise counsel of the medical doctors of Utah,” the statement on the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ website said.
“The public interest is best served when all new drugs designed to relieve suffering and illness and the procedures by which they are made available to the public undergo the scrutiny of medical scientists and official approval bodies,” the Mormon statement said.