SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The medical cannabis advocates suing the state after Monday's passage of a Proposition 2 replacement bill are seeking to overturn that law, yes — but they also want to contest what they see as government overreach in muting the voice of the people in an election.
In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in 3rd District Court by former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, the heads of the Epilepsy Association of Utah (EAU) and Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education (TRUCE) accuse the Legislature of abridging the rights of voters in an effort to appease The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And they argue that the Utah Medical Cannabis Act violates the state constitution's provision for ballot initiatives by sweeping aside the plan approved by a majority of voters.
"For three years, we advocated on the Hill," said Christine Stenquist, president of TRUCE. "For two years, we've been in a campaign for the proposition. And when I saw it undermined so quickly on the first business day, I started to wonder: Is the initiative process in Utah just a suggestion box? Are our votes really meaning anything in this political process? How long do we just have to let politics happen to us?"
The state constitution vests legislative power equally in the Legislature and "the people of the State of Utah." Some of the architects of the Proposition 2 replacement law, however, say the lawsuit stands on shaky legal ground.
Previously: Mormon Church, Politicians, and Advocates Back Medical Cannabis Compromise in Utah
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @11:44PM (7 children)
I worked at a VA and had full access to it. So, yes I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08 2018, @12:32AM
Not every socialized medicine country acts with the same lack of discretion.
(Score: 5, Informative) by edIII on Saturday December 08 2018, @12:36AM (5 children)
That's not socialized medicine. It's a goddamn travesty, but it ain't socialized medicine. It is the go-to reason to rail against socialized medicine in the US, because the opposition always points to the VA and says, "This is what it looks like when government takes control".
Bullshit. It doesn't have to be that way, and the VA is a special case for the complete disregard of our veteran's health care. That's not medicine, but fucking torture for every soldier that has to put up with the shit. Socialized medicine, unlike the VA, cannot direct you take these shots under orders.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08 2018, @01:16AM (4 children)
Good argument. Very persuasive.
I've lived under socialised medicine. And yes, the government did use it as an excuse to be intrusive, and to make limited-formulary decisions based on expedience, cost and moral decisions.
I was lucky and didn't suffer personal damage as a result. Family members weren't so lucky.
Socialised medicine is at its best when it's kept honest by the provision of unsocialised medicine, but even then it tends to be intrusive and obnoxious.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by NewNic on Saturday December 08 2018, @01:25AM (1 child)
There is a huge difference between a limited formulary and the government intruding into your individual healthcare.
My family's experience of socialized medicine is that it is better than the privatized scheme that exists in the USA.
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08 2018, @05:12PM
US healthcare is just a scam held in place by the government. A few years ago the scammers (insurance companies) even got the government to pass a law to force people to pay them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08 2018, @01:47PM (1 child)
You have a shitty goverment and you blame it on socialized health care. And then you wonder why you still have a shitty government. Well done, with such deductive capabilities of their constituents no wonder lying is such an attractive way to "solve" problems for politicians!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08 2018, @04:04PM
Seems as if the good news behind this observation is that americans have a shitty government (we can all agree on that, right?) but haven't entirely turned healthcare over to it, just yet.