Medical marijuana bill might help some, but others will be left in pain

A medical marijuana bill that passed out of the Utah state Senate on Monday and is now being considered by the House isn't likely to benefit one of the most prevalent groups of cannabis users: those who use the drug to help stimulate their appetites.

SB89, sponsored by Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, would allow extracts from marijuana plants to treat certain illnesses in Utah. The bill excludes the legal use of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a chemical in marijuana.

But Rob Lozanoff, a sophomore at Utah State University, said marijuana products without THC wouldn’t help him.

“Most of the time I am forcing myself to eat,” Lozanoff said.

Lozanoff, who has Type 1 diabetes, said he would benefit from the use of medical marijuana as envisioned in a competing bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Saratoga Springs, that would include THC products for medicinal use. That bill, however, has been criticized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — which includes among its members about 80 percent of the state Legislature — and has had a slower run through the Senate so far.

Randy Huff, of the Green Knottz medical marijuana dispensary in Oregon, said many people in the Beaver State — where cannabis is legal for both medical and recreational purposes — use THC products to stimulate their appetites.

“Cannabis strains that have very low THC levels rarely give you an appetite,” Huff said.

Lozanoff said he would simply like to be able to use a drug that he has found in the past to be effective to treat his illness.

“I feel better when I use marijuana,” he said, noting that he simply wants the right “to be happy and healthy.”

Vickers’ bill is currently being considered by the House Rules Committee. Madsen’s bill, SB73, has yet to make its way through the Senate.