Yo, peep this, fam. There be two big-time Utah state lawmakers teaming up to push a law that would cut funds to cities who ain’t down with recognizing medical weed as a legit medical treatment. Like, real talk, Utah voters already said yes to medical cannabis back in 2018 with over half the vote on deck. But some local governments ain’t feelin’ it and straight up discriminating against public employees who got their medical marijuana cards.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla ain’t havin’ none of that. She callin’ out them cities for not recognizing medical cannabis as a legit treatment and for treatin’ public employees who use it like they criminals or somethin’. She sayin’ that these cities be violatin’ state laws by makin’ employees spill the beans about their medical weed use and then punishing them for keepin’ it real.
Escamilla got this bill, right? It’s supposed to tweak the state’s medical marijuana program and make sure cities stop messin’ with folks who need their medicine. The bill, Senate Bill 233 (SB 233), got passed by the Senate with a voice vote after some back and forth.
And get this, the bill ain’t just backed by Escamilla. Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, a Republican, is also in on it. Plus, the Utah Patients Coalition got their back too.
But hold up, now there be some haters comin’ out against the bill. The Utah Eagle Forum, a big conservative crew, sayin’ the bill gonna put public safety at risk ’cause it might let impaired folks work certain jobs.
But Escamilla ain’t lettin’ them haters stop her grind. She sayin’ there’s rules in place to make sure folks ain’t smokin’ on the job. She also point out that cops can’t even get medical weed cards ’cause of gun laws.
Some other lawmakers be buggin’ about the bill too, but Escamilla open to talk about changes if they wanna make it happen. They thinkin’ about settin’ a specific amount of funding cities would lose if they keep discriminating against medical marijuana patients.
So now the bill gotta pass through the Senate and then hit up the Utah House of Representatives before it can become law. And yo, it’s gonna need Governor Spencer Cox to sign off on it too.
That’s the scoop on this whole Utah medical weed bill drama. Stay tuned to see if it gets all the way through or if it hits a roadblock along the way. Peace out, y’all.
