/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-sltrib.s3.amazonaws.com/public/F46YNS4BXBE47EO23A32YHWY4I.jpg)
“At a 2010 conference for Mormon priesthood leaders, the first question asked was about the church’s policy on medical marijuana.
The response: It is an issue between the church member, the member’s bishop and the Lord, to be made in consultation with the scriptures and the LDS health code called the Word of Wisdom.
‘The church has no position,’ one leader said, ‘on medical marijuana.’
That statement was made by Russell M. Nelson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and now president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Tuesday, the faith’s First Presidency tried to keep straddling that fence with a statement on Utah’s ballot initiative. The language was squishier than green Jell-O at a ward picnic.
They did not directly oppose medical marijuana. They did, however, throw cold water on the initiative, commending the Utah Medical Association’s blistering condemnation, which — as the church statement put it — ‘would compromise the health and safety of Utah communities.’
In practice, a NV Mormon in West Wendover can, on doctor’s advice, use cannabis and remain in good standing.
Why then, should a [member] blocks away in Utah’s Wendover be at odds with the church for seeking relief? Are science, medicine and faith so fickle?”
1. Trying to rationalize the inconsistencies between what members are allowed in Wendover vs. West Wendover leaves one tied in knots. There’s simply no way to logically harmonize the two.
That is, either they’re OK with “compromising the health and safety” of NV members by “looking the other way,” or they know that UT members wouldn’t be compromising those things.
Further, the lack of federal legality ought to matter as much in NV, CO, etc. as in UT.
Period. End of story. Next case, Perry Mason.
2. Their chosen evidentiary source, the UMA, is not research oriented, has never seriously looked into the voluminous science, doesn’t consult the state’s doctors, and their statement has been ripped to shreds by credible publications like the Standard-Examiner as we’ve shared.
“If the church is piggybacking on UMA objections — ‘We respect the wise counsel of the medical doctors of Utah,’ the leaders said — the logic again breaks down.
UMA represents a fraction of the state’s physicians. In addition, the group’s critique reflects only its board. The UMA opinion also presumes this group of UT doctors knows something doctors in the rest of the country don’t.
In 2014, WebMD and Medscape surveyed 1,544 doctors from 48 states across medical disciplines, and nearly 7 out of 10 said marijuana can be an effective treatment for certain conditions.”
If the LDS Church is determined to weigh in, they’ll hopefully seek out readily available “wiser counsel” than any the discredited #UMA can offer. Until then, the wisest course we see is leaving a secular matter they’ve allowed is medical – not doctrinal – up to all Utahns regardless of affiliation.
Much more in the article…
#TRUCE
See full article – Comments: Gehrke: LDS Church’s stance on medical marijuana doesn’t make sense. Why is it OK for a Nevada Mormon but not a Utah Mormon?
