The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still opposes Proposition 2, but is now asking the Utah Legislature to legalize medical marijuana this year — likely in special session after voters decide the ballot measure’s fate.
Prop 2 supporters see the faith’s sudden sense of urgency as subterfuge to kill the initiative with promises for action — which could later be ignored or made overly burdensome by conservative lawmakers.
“We would like to see this taken care of before the end of the year,” Marty Stephens, the church’s director of community and government relations, and a former Utah House speaker, said in an interview.