Herbert wasn’t specific on whether voters would approve the 2018 ballot initiative legalizing medical marijuana or whether they would legalize it at some later time.
Considering polls late last year showed that 75 percent of Utahns want to legalize medical marijuana, despite its federal classification as an illegal substance, Herbert didn’t really go out on a limb.
But when considered with recent comments by United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Herbert’s remark illustrates what could soon amount to a state versus federal showdown.
On Thursday, Sessions announced that the Trump administration was halting a 2013 Obama-era policy that protected states where marijuana was legal from enforcement of federal laws.