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SALT LAKE CITY — Nevada is among a number of states where voters last week decided marijuana should be legal to use recreationally. Four more states approved it for medical reasons.
With Nevada being close to the beehive state, some Utahans have expressed concern that there will be an increase in marijuana being brought into Utah illegally.
Doctors, lawmakers and residents met at the University of Utah Tuesday night to begin an important conversation about medical cannabis.
Paul Hill attended the summit put on by The Utah Association of Responsible Cannabis Legislation and said his daughter Sophia is lucky to be alive. The 5-year-old girl has suffered from seizures most of her life but just last year was introduced to Canibidol.
“She was having her seizures about every two weeks. After we gave her the oil the first time, she went 29 weeks without any seizures,” Hill said.
It was a success for the family but one that didn’t come easy. The first oil they tried made Sophia's seizures worse.
Federal law prohibited the family from bringing the product over state lines so they bought their first one from another country.
“It was international but we didn't know if it was clean or how clean it was,” Hill said.
Hill is now among a group of Utahans calling for more research and regulation.
Representative Gage Froerer from Huntsville is with that group and is introducing a new bill that would tackle those issues in the 2017 legislative session.
"I felt it was time to move forward and have other people have access to this drug and try to alleviate as much as possible our opioid overdose and prescription drug problem in the state,” Froerer said.
The lawmaker said with states close to us following suit, it is important to start similar conversations.
"The data exists out there with peer reviews as many other states have done that but I'm also a believer that more research is good for the health of the people,” Hill said.
Rep. Froerer's bill is one of five addressing cannabis that will be introduced this legislative session.
