Public hearings were held in Utah this week about legalizing medical marijuana.
It was the first in a series of meetings to be held on the Utah Patient Coalition’s ballot initiative, which will seek to legalize medical marijuana in the state. The two meetings were held yesterday in Lehi and another in St. George.
The coalition submitted its ballot measure in late June after years of debate on legalizing medical marijuana in the Legislature. To get the measure on the ballot, supporters need to collect just over 113,000 signatures.
Those signatures must be submitted to the state by April 15. Ballot organizers said they’d need to raise about $3 million for its campaign. Earlier this year, state lawmakers opted against legalization, given uncertainty surrounding federal enforcement of marijuana laws. Instead they passed measures to fund marijuana research in Utah.