Last verified: April 2026
The Word of Wisdom and the 1915 Ban
The Word of Wisdom — Doctrine and Covenants Section 89, received by Joseph Smith in 1833 — is the LDS health code prohibiting alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea. Cannabis is not named in the original text; it was not in widespread U.S. use in 1833. The Church formally banned member cannabis use in August 1915, two months before Utah’s state-level criminalization.
Today, the General Handbook §38.7.14 notes that “there are other harmful substances and practices that are not specified in the Word of Wisdom or by Church leaders” and asks members to “use wisdom and prayerful judgment.”
Section 38.7.9: The Medical-Use Carveout
Section 38.7.9 of the General Handbook, first published July 2020 and updated December 2020, formally codified the Church’s medical cannabis position:
The Church opposes the use of marijuana for non-medical purposes. … However, marijuana may be used for medicinal purposes when … determined to be medically necessary by a licensed physician or another legally approved medical provider [and the patient] follows the dosage and mode of administration.
General Handbook §38.7.9, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The handbook adds: “The Church does not approve of smoking marijuana, including for medical purposes,” and that vaping cannabis is acceptable only with explicit medical-provider authorization. Compliant medical use does not jeopardize a member’s temple-recommend status — a clarification offered by Elder Christensen and Sister Harkness on KUER’s RadioWest in September 2018.
Demographics Are Shifting
The Pew Religious Landscape Study released in February 2025 found 50% of Utah adults self-identify as Latter-day Saints, down from 55% in 2014 and 58% in 2007. The unaffiliated share rose from 22% to 34% over the same span. Church-roll-based county data (which counts inactive members and is the basis for the often-cited “60–62%” figure) tells a different story than self-identification, but the directional trend — declining LDS share, rising religious “nones,” driven by in-migration and disaffiliation — is consistent. The Church stopped publishing Utah-specific membership figures in 2021.
The Legislature Has Not Shifted with the Demographics
The most recent comprehensive count (Salt Lake Tribune, January 2021) found 89 of 104 Utah legislators (~86%) were Latter-day Saints — roughly nine of every ten seats. No published 2025–26 update exists, but composition is widely reported as essentially unchanged. Senate President J. Stuart Adams (R-Layton) is a publicly self-identified Latter-day Saint; House Speaker Mike Schultz (R-Hooper) is widely reported as LDS in policy coverage.
This 86% LDS legislature, combined with Section 38.7.9’s firm prohibition on recreational use, is the structural reason House Speaker Schultz can credibly say recreational legalization is “not going to happen” even as Utah voters cross 52–53% support for it. See political influence for how the Church organized Drug Safe Utah and shaped the 2018 Compromise.
Stigma Shapes Patient Behavior
A 2025 peer-reviewed Utah study, cited in a Deseret News op-ed (October 25, 2025), found patients fearing stigma — workplace, family, ward bishop, neighbors — were six times more likely to use illicit cannabis rather than the legal program, and patients confused by Utah’s renewal regime were 59 times more likely to source illicitly. Roughly one in three Utahns who registered are now non-active cardholders, often because of stigma or cost. Advocacy groups frame their messaging around “compassion” and “validation” rather than rights — vocabulary calibrated to LDS cultural norms.
BYU and the Deseret Media Ecosystem
Brigham Young University’s Honor Code explicitly requires students, faculty, and staff to “Abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, vaping, marijuana, and other substance abuse.” There is no medical-use exception in the Honor Code text; medical accommodations are handled case-by-case at administrative discretion. The Honor Code has named marijuana since the 1970 catalog.
The Deseret News and KSL — both owned by Deseret Management Corporation, the for-profit holding company wholly owned by the Church — have editorially tracked the Church’s position: skeptical of Prop 2, supportive of the Compromise, and as of 2025 calling for “keeping the program medical” while warning about diversion to illicit markets. The independent Salt Lake Tribune has consistently provided the most critical coverage of Church lobbying. See BYU & Deseret News.
Will the Church Evolve?
Through April 2026, reform signals are limited. No General Conference talk has been devoted to cannabis. The handbook has not loosened. During the 2025 session, Church representatives reportedly lobbied against HB 203’s most ambitious expansions; UPC’s Desiree Hennessy told the Tribune (February 26, 2025): “They stopped listening to us, and they just put their blinders on and would not even have a conversation.”
Generational data suggests younger LDS members are more sympathetic to medical cannabis and even recreational legalization, but this has not translated into changed senior-leadership statements. The most likely 2026–2030 trajectory is continued incremental medical-program expansion within the pharmacy/no-home-grow frame, with no recreational opening.
Explore the Church & Cannabis
Official Sources
For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org