The Church has come out with a new statement clarifying and elaborating on their stance and views of medical marijuana.
As the Utah State Legislature considers two bills on the use of medical marijuana, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued the following statements outlining its position.
Church Statement Issued Friday, February 12, 2016
While we are not in a position to evaluate specific medical claims, the Church understands that there are some individuals who may benefit from the medical use of compounds found in marijuana. For that reason, although the Church opposes SB 73, it has raised no objection to SB 89. These two competing pieces of legislation take very different approaches when it comes to issues like access, distribution, control and the potential harm of the hallucinogenic compound, THC.
In addition to the therapeutic, treatment, and control questions, there are several other important issues to be resolved. At the forefront is that the use of medical marijuana is still illegal under federal law. We agree with groups such as the American Medical Association, who have said (see the AMA policy below) that further study is warranted before significant public policy decisions on marijuana are advanced. For these reasons, the Church urges a cautious approach.