Has there been any other political issue in Utah that led to two special sessions within one year? I’m not aware of one. In so many ways, medical cannabis reform in Utah has been a unique process.
We’ve learned a lot since last year’s change to the law — both those who were for Prop 2 and those who were against.
On the one hand, legislators interested in a government-controlled distribution of medical cannabis — a federally illegal substance — have come to understand that the legal and financial hurdles were insurmountable. Creating a state-run operation that would accept debit cards (to avoid cash) and distribute cannabis through a network of county health departments was a unique approach, though ultimately untenable.