Mormon marijuana is not a blueprint for the future of weed

A handful of states across the country still don’t have a marijuana program on the books. Many of these prohibited areas are in the conservative Deep South and Great Plains, where lawmakers continue to believe that the Bible is the only law in the country they really need.

For them, even therapeutic marijuana is like opening the first door to hell. Many fear that breaking the door to medical use could eventually lead to the legalization of marijuana for adults 21 and older, and then tarnish their moral compass and drive it south of heaven.

And they are right, at least for the most part.

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Cannabis advocates believe that the influence of the Mormon Church in Utah led to the creation of a recreational cannabis model that conservative states may want to refer to. “Some of the lawmakers who oppose medical marijuana are out of concern that it will somehow lead to legalization,” Karen O’Keefe, director of state policy at the Marijuana Policy Project, told Politics. “[Utah is] a good example of a state that has a limited medical program that is not looking to legalize adult use and where medical society has actually been actively involved in working out the details of the program. “

RELATED: What Is A Conservative Government Medical Marijuana Program Like?

Although the Mormons initially rejected the concept of medical marijuana, they eventually jumped on board with a compromise that only got through because the Church wanted it to. The Latter-day Saint Church has so much appeal in Utah that all of society is forced to live largely sober in an area where alcohol and drugs are really the only things.

Try traveling the endless void of Beehive State without a cocktail or two, and let’s just say, when you get out on the south end, the Las Vegas debauchery is compounded. It is enough to turn fabric shirts into temperate animals into wild animals. But if there was to be medical marijuana in Utah, the Mormons wanted it to look, um, medical. So this is the policy they followed.

RELATED: Why the Southern States Are Still Pushing Back on Marijuana Legalization

Utah’s medical marijuana program doesn’t allow smoking weed, only vaporizing it. There are also strict shopping restrictions and every pharmacy must employ a licensed pharmacist to ensure that the rules are followed. Although the restrictive nature of the program has made the cannabis industry expensive to run, Utah’s medical marijuana program is often viewed as the most successful program. Why? Because there is no way to full legalization and patients are okay with it.

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“Utah … is likely to be one of the last states to legalize recreational marijuana,” said O’Keefe. “There is absolutely no reason to decriminalize the simple possession of marijuana.”

But is this medical marijuana model really what the United States is buying? Not really. The concept of medical cannabis has been losing ground since the CBD craze led to so-called “therapeutic products” being sold at truck stops. We don’t even hear much about medical marijuana these days at the federal level.

RELATED: Federal marijuana legalization could mimic the end of the alcohol ban

The Senate Democrats want to bypass this move and work towards a completely legal market like alcohol and tobacco. How will the nation continue to argue the need for medicinal use when marijuana, like beer, is sold to adults 21 and older across the country? Well it gets a lot harder to do. Because while states like Utah could take a conservative path to marijuana use, that position is no match for pot progressives and capitalism.

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No, Mormon marijuana is not going to catch on anytime soon. Eventually, the industry will need more to stay functional. Seventeen states, many of which started out with restrictive medical marijuana programs, have already made the leap into adult use. It’s a question of pure economics.

And history repeats itself.

Alcohol was once prescribed for a wide variety of medical conditions in this country. However, by 1933, the federal government brought it back for adult use. Conservative states opposed this concept. Mississippi waited until 1966 to accept the legal drink. While states like Utah are likely to fight the real marijuana movement for decades to come, they can’t hold out forever. The real future of legal weed in the US is a taxed and regulated market. Sin always wins.