Instead, they’re resorting to pretending the initiative is something it’s not – and then trying to make the public think the debate is about that thing.
But the Utah Medical Cannabis Act (UMCA) is simply not in any way aimed at bringing about “recreational marijuana” through any door, back or front.
Claiming otherwise – instead of debating the proposal’s actual merit – amounts to very weak, heavily truth-challenged sauce.
Still, those taking this road are prominent, well-funded people and organizations with various motives for opposing safe, legal access, who will continue to use misinformation to make many believe outlandish and untrue things – i.e., things that won’t happen whether or not the UMCA is passed.
Happily, proponents don’t come to the campaign empty-handed against this cynical tactic. First, they have the great majority of the scientific evidence and the high acceptance of MC in legal states on their side.
Second, Utah doesn’t exist in a bubble. Its citizens see – and approve of – what’s going on with medical cannabis by an impressive majority.
Third, we know there are reformers all over Utah – advocates, patients and caregivers with success stories, honest reporters who’ve studied the issues, doctors – and many other well-informed citizens who can see through the flim-flam.
If people of good will keep the truth in the forefront against the barrage of off-target assaults to come, the Act’s chances still seem good to us.
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Meanwhile, though, Ms. Ruzicka gets right to trying to “rewrite” the #UMCA here…
She notes: “In a recent Utah Policy Daily poll, the question was asked, ‘Do you support or oppose legalizing doctor-prescribed use of non-smoking medical marijuana for certain diseases and pain relief?’”
She then calls this a “deceptive question,” which she justifies by zoning in on the word “prescribe” used by a pollster – but NOT by the initiative writers. And then suggests the poll got the wrong answer.
As a Tenth Amendment supporter, she knows full well this has to do with federal and not state law. Prescribing cannabis can cost doctors their DEA controlled substance prescription number, and in EVERY state program doctors give state-honored recommendations to obtain medicinal cannabis from a dispensary instead.
So a minor language artifact of federal, not state law. Most people know that medical cannabis programs use dispensary systems for the same reason.
Starting her “analysis” with a big distortion, we weren’t surprised it only went downhill from there. And we’ll get to her specious sub-arguments as well in time. They’ll certainly come up again.
Or you can do so in the comments! We’d love your takes…
#MMJ #UTpol #TRUCE
See full article – Op-ed: Don’t be deceived by Utah’s marijuana initiative
