Marijuana grows in an illegal Southern Utah cultivation in this file photo (Photo: The Spectrum & Daily News file photo)

On Sunday, the recreational use of marijuana will become legal in Nevada following passage of the state's "Question 2" during this year's elections.

The law will allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of cannabis or one-eighth ounce of cannabis concentrate with the start of the new year, but the need for Nevada to establish a licensing and taxation infrastructure means it will be a while yet before individuals can actually buy pot if they don't already have a medical marijuana prescription card.

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Case Sparked Debate Because of Mandatory 55-Year Sentence.

Salt Lake City (AP) - A Utah music producer who was ordered to 55 years behind bars for bringing guns to marijuana deals has been set free, after 12 years in prison and national outcry over the mandatory minimum sentencing laws that forced a federal judge to impose the lengthy term.

Weldon Angelos, 36, was freed Tuesday. He says he kept his release quiet for a few days because he wanted to spend time with his three teenage children, who were much younger when he was sentenced in 2004 at 24.

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In the not-too-distant past, we would have considered it unwise, and perhaps even dangerous, to change the federal classification of marijuana from a schedule 1 to a schedule 2 drug. But that was before 24 states and the District of Columbia passed laws legalizing the drug either for medicinal or recreational uses.

The fact is, those states acted without any scientific basis, and they have turned wide swaths of the nation into incubator labs for a drug with physical, psychological and, perhaps, some beneficial medicinal consequences. With marijuana already unleashed in such an officially sanctioned way, the need to study it is imperative.

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SALT LAKE CITY - Medical marijuana advocates, stymied in their recent efforts to legalize medical cannabis in Utah, are taking the fight to the nation's capital.

They are calling on Utah's congressional delegation to support a bill that would downgrade marijuana from a schedule I controlled substance to a schedule II substance - something that state legislators urged Congress to do in a resolution sponsored by state Sen. Brian Shiozawa, R-Salt Lake City.

That would open the way for more research on the substance, something both advocates and those concerned about the potential harmful impacts of marijuana support.

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I really take issue with Richard Davis' assertion ("Medical marijuana issue will damage Democratic governor campaign," April 27) that gubernatorial hopeful Mike Weinholtz's campaign was damaged by the revelation that his wife, Donna, is under investigation for using marijuana to combat severe arthritis and nerve pain. If anything, his refreshing authenticity and truthfulness will endear him to voters.

Meanwhile, local support for medical marijuana continues to increase. A newly-released poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates for Utah Policy shows that 66 percent of Utahns are in favor of legalization. Only 28 percent stand in opposition.

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Since I was 7 years old, I have suffered from severe and chronic migraines. When I was in my early twenties, a benign brain tumor was discovered. Unsuccessful removal of the tumor left me with unrelenting pain, muscle spasms and vertigo, which became increasingly debilitating. For years, I was prescribed an endless cocktail of heavy painkillers that eventually left me bedridden. Forced to quit my job and unable to engage with my family, I spent 15 years trapped in a bedroom - all the while still wracked with pain.

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Day after day, Utahns suffering from a wide range of serious medical conditions join us on Capitol Hill to advocate in favor of Senate Bill 73, which would legalize cannabis for those with cancer, chronic pain, Crohn's, epilepsy, MS, ALS and other conditions. They spend hours waiting for legislators to speak with them - and, too often, they are ignored.

To be frank, most senators seem sick of them - they don't want to look these people in the eye. Doing so would make it far more difficult to cast a vote that would keep them in the shadows of society, threatened with arrest, fines, incarceration and more.

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In regards to the LDS Church's opposition to Sen. Mark Madsen's bill to make medical cannabis legal, I have a couple of observations.

Utah has the highest rate of prescription opioid abuse in the country and the highest rate of accidental death due to opioid overdose.

Wouldn't it be better to give people the option of medical cannabis, that won't kill them, to relieve their suffering?

David G. Payne

Salt Lake City

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As parent of a child with epilepsy, I have been following the Legislature's cannabis bills closely. While I commend Rep. Brad Daw and Sen. Evan Vickers for their interest and their bill, I feel Sen. Mark Madsen is closer to hitting the bulls-eye.

Plenty of studies show cannabis works better as a whole plant. Madsen's bill, Senate Bill 73, tightly regulates "whole plant" medical cannabis, so the nightmares touted by recent op-ed pieces are not likely to happen. SB73 doesn't legalize smoking cannabis or growing your own. It regulates growing locations to prevent growing in residential zones. It's for medical purposes under a doctor's supervision, not for recreational purposes. I doubt any doctor would jeopardize their license by allowing cavalier use of cannabis under their direction.

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Uphill Battle) One Senator Pulls His Support; Madsen Says Church Position a Blow but Still Has Hope for Success.

At least one and possibly two senators have abandoned their support of a medical-marijuana bill pending in the Utah Legislature after the LDS Church issued a statement opposing the measure.

The measure's sponsor, Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Saratoga Springs, said his colleagues' change of heart is a blow to his effort to make Utah the 24th state to legalize medical cannabis, but he hopes there is still time to make the case to senators that the bill is worth passing.

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Of course not everything that would follow action by the Utah Legislature to allow the medicinal use of marijuana would be positive. There are few chemicals, natural or artificial, in the human environment that do not, when badly or excessively used, have serious, even fatal, downsides.

But there has been more than enough evidence presented to convince any compassionate person - or institution - that medical cannabis offers some of us real relief from unimaginable levels of human suffering. Relief that is more effective, with fewer side-effects, than can be had from legal medications.

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Medical Marijuana

A Senator Is Frustrated That Leaders of Utah's Predominant Faith "Put Their Thumb on the Scale" to Influence State Policy.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposes a bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen that would make Utah the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana, citing unintended consequences that could come with use of the drug.

The state's predominant faith is not taking a position on another measure, sponsored by Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, and Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, that would allow extracts from the plant that do not contain the psychoactive chemical THC.

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It is with profound sadness that we once again hear of a family forced to skirt the law to obtain small amounts of what our state deems illegal to treat their children.

And to hear the family is being harassed by Child and Family Services! A mother of four is forced to go into hiding for fear of having her child taken away or charges being filed against her.

What is unconscionable is the failure of our legislators and administrators to provide a meaningful solution. How are these people, some I assume with children, not moved to act swiftly and decisively? Does our governor not have the legal power or the moral responsibility to make this the priority it should be?

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For the past six months, Dallas Sainsbury has treated her Crohn's disease with a cocktail of opiates, steroids, muscle relaxers and other medications that made her hazy and sick to her stomach, alongside numerous other side effects.

Then, while attending a concert with friends in Colorado, she tried marijuana and it eased her nausea, anxiety and the urgent need to use the bathroom. It also helped her get off the opioids that left her "high every day," led to her quitting school and made it impossible for her to work.

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