Two influential Utah state lawmakers have joined forces to advance legislation that would cut funding to cities that refuse to recognize medical marijuana as a legitimate medical therapy. 

Utah voters approved the medical use of cannabis in a 2018 ballot measure that passed with nearly 53% of the vote. Following the passage of the initiative, the state legislature approved a regulatory plan that essentially treats medical cannabis as a traditional prescription drug. Under the plan, cannabis is still considered a controlled substance but patients are allowed to use medical marijuana like they would any other prescribed medication.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, however, says that some local governments have refused to accept medical cannabis as a legitimate medical treatment and are discriminating against public employees who are registered medical marijuana patients. Escamilla says that some cities have questioned employees about their status as medical cannabis patients and disciplined those who say they have received a medical cannabis card.

“At the end of the day they are in violation of state law,” Escamilla told local media. “It’s very clear you don’t get to force people to tell you they’re using controlled substances as a prescription. This is a recommended, prescribed medication and they’re treating them differently. That’s what we’re trying to prevent.”

Escamilla is backing a bill that would make minor adjustments to the state’s medical marijuana program. To address employment discrimination by local governments, the legislation would also cut funding to cities that discriminate against medical marijuana card holders. The measure, Senate Bill 233 (SB 233), was advanced by the Senate with a voice vote on Tuesday after the measure’s third reading in the chamber.

Bill Has Bipartisan Support From Senate Leadership

The legislation is supported by Escamilla, the bill’s chief sponsor, and Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, a Republican, giving the measure substantial clout in the upper chamber of Utah’s state legislature. Medical marijuana advocates including the Utah Patients Coalition also support the bill. 

“Despite the clear legal framework supporting their rights, several public employees have still faced unwarranted discrimination and removal from positions for simply exercising their lawful right to access medical cannabis,” Desiree Hennessy, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “SB 233 provides a long-awaited mechanism to encourage compliance with state law through the potential withholding of funding, helping to shield state workers from discrimination regarding their medication.”

Despite the bill’s bipartisan support in the state Senate, SB 233 is now facing public opposition. The Utah Eagle Forum, an influential socially conservative group, has come out against the bill, saying the measure would jeopardize public safety.

“This bill would penalize state agencies and political subdivisions that try to enforce safety regulations against a medical marijuana card holder,” Gayle Ruzicka, the president of the Eagle Forum, wrote in an email to supporters. “This may allow a cardholder who may be impaired to work in positions, such as a heavy machine operator, a motor vehicle driver, or a child care provider. We must have exceptions and a way to protect the public.”

The statement from the group led to objections to the legislation from some lawmakers, including Senator Todd Weiler and Senator Mike Kennedy, both Republicans. However, Escamilla noted that there are provisions that prohibit workers from being under the influence of medical cannabis while on the job. She also noted that Utah’s medical marijuana laws do not allow police officers to register as patients because of conflicts with firearms laws.

Acknowledging the objections to the bill, Escamilla said that she is willing to negotiate with fellow lawmakers to modify the bill, including defining a specific percentage of funding cities would lose if they discriminate against medical marijuana patients.

Before SB 233 can become law, it must receive final approval in the Senate before heading to the Utah House of Representatives. If passed by the House, the measure would also require the signature of Republican Governor Spencer Cox.

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A court in Pennsylvania this month ruled against a medical cannabis patient who had appealed a 2021 driving under the influence conviction. 

The York Daily Record has the background on the case involving Franklin Dabney, a 29-year-old from Hanover, Pennsylvania who was arrested in 2020 after a Pennsylvania state trooper in an unmarked vehicle clocked him going 93 miles per hour in a 65 zone.

The trooper “noticed a ‘strong odor of raw marijuana’ coming from inside the vehicle,” the York Daily Record reported, prompting Dabney to “[take] out a medical marijuana card and [state] that the smell was probably originating from his clothes.”

“Law enforcement conducted a warrantless search of the vehicle, finding flakes of suspected marijuana near the center console and front-passenger seat as well as a shopping bag containing three baggies of weed,” the Daily Record reported. “Dabney, police said, had dilated and red eyes. He also showed signs of impairment during standard field sobriety tests. Police arrested Dabney and took him to Gettysburg Hospital, where a blood test revealed that he had active marijuana compounds and metabolites in his system. Prosecutors later agreed to exclude the weed found in his car from evidence and withdrew three of the charges against him.”

A little more than a year after the arrest, a Pennsylvania judge “found Dabney guilty of driving under the influence, careless driving, and speeding and sentenced him to six months’ probation, with 10 days on house arrest and handed down almost $1,115 in fines,” according to the Daily Record, which spurred the appeal. 

Per the newspaper, Dabney and his attorneys contended that “that medical marijuana is not a Schedule 1 controlled substance in Pennsylvania and that law enforcement should be prohibited from charging and prosecuting him for two subsections of DUI,” and if it were, the DUI law would be in conflict with the state’s medical cannabis statute.

Last week, a panel of three judges in the Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected that argument. 

In the ruling, Judge Deborah A. Kunselman, said that “medical marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance,” and that “no conflict exists between the [Medical Marijuana Act] and the Vehicle Code.”

“There is no need for ‘medical marijuana’ to be listed as a Schedule I controlled substance because medical marijuana is marijuana, specifically marijuana ‘for certified medical use,’” Kunselman wrote, adding that the Medical Marijuana Act “did not remove marijuana from the list of Schedule I controlled substances.”

Additionally, the panel rejected Dabney’s contention that the state trooper was wrong to conclude that there was probable cause to arrest him for DUI.

“We find no merit to this issue. Our Supreme Court has held that because of the MMA, ‘the odor of marijuana alone does not amount to probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle but, rather, may be considered as a factor in examining the totality of the circumstances,” Kunselman wrote. 

The case could have ripple effects for Pennsylvania’s more than 400,000 medical cannabis patients.

As the York Daily Record noted, the ruling “is precedential, which means that it has a binding effect on future cases in Pennsylvania,” and it remains unclear if Dabney will file another appeal.

“That’s certainly something we’re considering,” Dabney’s attorney, Christian DeFilippo, said, as quoted by the York Daily Record. “I want to let him take some time to make that decision.”

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