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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake County Board of Health voted unanimously Thursday to support the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative that voters will decide on in November, but decided to wait until at least next month to take any official position on Utah's medical marijuana initiative.
The group has consistently favored full Medicaid expansion in recent years while the issue has been considered at the state Legislature, and Thursday's decision "was a continuation of that," explained Clare Coonan, chairwoman of the board.
"It was pretty natural of them to support that measure," concurred Salt Lake County Health Department Executive Director Gary Edwards, whose agency presented information about the measure before the vote.
Edwards clarified that the county health department did not request that the board take any particular position.
The ballot initiative would enact a sales tax increase to expand Medicaid coverage to all Utahns up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, making up to about 150,000 people newly eligible for federal health benefits.
"If we got more people covered, more people access to health care, our community will be healthier," said Dr. William Cosgrove, a pediatrician and member of the health board.
Edwards and Jeff Smart, prevention bureau manager at the county health department, presented information to the board about the ways in which marijuana would be made available to some Utahns if the medical cannabis initiative passes, after which the board opted to delay taking any position until at least next month.
Some board members said they wanted more time to review the details of the initiative and get a better grasp of the existing research into marijuana's medical properties. Coonan reminded the board not to "limit ourselves" to taking a position directly for or against the measure.
"There may be something else as a board we want to advocate for," she said, including more broad statements about medical marijuana research or legalization efforts in general.
The initiative would allow Utahns with certain conditions or illnesses to purchase marijuana legally under state law if they qualify for a medical cannabis card as determined by their doctor.
Related story:
Utah medical marijuana advocates launch ballot initiative for 2018
David Cromar and his son Holden, who has intractable epilepsy, are hopeful that a new ballot initiative will allow them to move back to Utah while still allowing Holden to get the treatment he needs."The board is conflicted, because this is a messy area," said Cosgrove, who himself is against the measure.
Speaking for himself, Cosgrove said he believes "there isn't strong enough scientific information to make a statement either way" on the issue in the board's official capacity.
Next month, he said, he believes the board is "still going to be on the horns of a dilemma of good versus harm."
"This is a wide open, hard to answer question," Cosgrove said, but he is against the initiative largely because of what he believes is the greater risk to children that accompanies wider overall accessibility to marijuana. He also has reservations about uncertainty surrounding what dosing levels and delivery mechanisms are appropriate for patients who could benefit.
