The Utah Compromise: How Prop 2 Became HB 3001

Last verified: April 2026

The Initiative That Started It

The Utah Patients Coalition (UPC), founded in 2017 with assistance from the Marijuana Policy Project and the libertarian Libertas Institute, gathered roughly 153,000 signatures to qualify the Utah Medical Cannabis Initiative (Proposition 2) for the November 6, 2018 ballot. Then-Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox’s office validated 117,000 signatures on March 26, 2018 — comfortably above the ~113,143-signature threshold.

Prop 2 passed 52.75% to 47.25% — commonly rounded to “53%” in news coverage. It would have authorized private cultivation, processing, testing labs, and “cannabis dispensaries”; established broad qualifying conditions including PTSD, autoimmune disorders, and chronic pain; and uniquely, allowed home cultivation of up to six plants for any patient who lived more than 100 miles from a dispensary.

It never took effect.

The Opposition: Drug Safe Utah and the LDS Church

The opposition campaign was led by Drug Safe Utah, a coalition that included the Utah Medical Association (CEO Michelle McOmber), the Utah Eagle Forum (Gayle Ruzicka), the Utah Chiefs of Police, the Sutherland Institute — and, decisively, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On August 23, 2018, the Church convened a Salt Lake City press conference where Elder Jack N. Gerard (General Authority Seventy), Sister Lisa L. Harkness (First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency), and Elder Craig C. Christensen (then Utah Area President) formalized opposition.

The Church does not object to the medicinal use of marijuana, if doctor-prescribed, in dosage form, through a licensed pharmacy.

Elder Jack N. Gerard, August 23, 2018 — the formula that would become statutory text

The Church’s external counsel, Kirton McConkie, produced a seven-to-nine-page memo (drafted by attorney Alexander Dushku) cataloguing 31 concerns with Prop 2, which the Church distributed to members and the press. See political influence for the full picture.

The October 4, 2018 Deal

On October 4, 2018 — five weeks before the election — Gov. Gary Herbert, Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, House Speaker Greg Hughes, Sen. Evan Vickers (a Cedar City pharmacist), Elder Gerard, UPC’s DJ Schanz, Libertas’s Connor Boyack, the UMA, and former Sen. Mark Madsen announced a negotiated alternative.

Marty Stephens, the Church’s Director of Community and Government Relations and a former Utah House Speaker, was the Church’s negotiator. Both sides agreed to “de-escalate” the campaign, and all parties committed that — regardless of Prop 2’s outcome — the legislature would convene a special session to enact the compromise.

TRUCE Utah (founder Christine Stenquist) and the Epilepsy Association of Utah refused to sign on and threatened litigation. See the 2018 deal for the full inside-the-room account.

HB 3001: The Special Session

Voters passed Prop 2 anyway. On December 3, 2018, in a single-day special session, the legislature passed HB 3001 — the Utah Medical Cannabis Act:

• House sponsor: Speaker Greg Hughes
• Senate sponsor: Sen. Evan Vickers
• House vote: 60–13
• Senate vote: 22–4
• Signed by Gov. Herbert the same afternoon

Herbert called HB 3001 “the best-designed medical cannabis program in the country.”

The Substantive Differences

The differences between Prop 2 and HB 3001 were sweeping. See the side-by-side comparison for full detail.

• Home cultivation: Eliminated entirely.
• Retail outlets: Renamed “medical cannabis pharmacies” with a required on-site licensed pharmacist.
• Pharmacy cap: 7 private + a state “central fill” pharmacy (later changed). Now 17 authorized, 15 operational.
• Cultivation cap: 10 licensees (8 initially issued, still 8).
• Provider role: Physicians had to register as Qualified Medical Providers (QMPs) with continuing education and a patient cap.
• Qualifying conditions: Narrowed (autoimmune disorders → HIV/AIDS specifically; “physical wasting” → cachexia).
• Edibles: Brownies, gummies, cookies, and conventional candies prohibited — only cube-shaped or rectangular “gelatinous lozenges” permitted.
• Flower: Permitted but only in sealed blister packs of one gram or less, and only for vaporization (not combustion).
• Compassionate Use Board: Created to handle non-listed conditions and minors.

Legal Challenges Failed

Epilepsy Association of Utah, TRUCE, Doug Rice, and Christine Stenquist v. Herbert, filed by former SLC mayor Rocky Anderson on December 5, 2018, alleged the legislative override was unconstitutional. Plaintiffs dropped the church-influence claim in May 2019; the suit was dismissed by September 2020. The People’s Right (Steve Maxfield et al.) filed an emergency Utah Supreme Court petition arguing Herbert had effectively vetoed Prop 2; the court unanimously rejected it in August 2019, noting HB 3001 had passed both chambers with two-thirds majorities.

Eight Years of Incremental Amendment

Every legislative session since has produced incremental loosening on the margins, but the four pillars of the Compromise — no home grow, pharmacy model with on-site pharmacist, narrow form factors, capped supply chain — remain untouched. SB 1002 (2019) eliminated the central-fill concept and raised pharmacy cap from 7 to 14. SB 121 (2020) allowed flower in childproof bottles and immunized cardholders for inactive THC metabolites. SB 170 (2021) created the LMP category. The 2025 General Session passed HB 54 (rural pharmacies), HB 357 (fee cuts), and SB 64 (banned card-drives). 2026 SB 121, SB 66, and HB 389 followed. See eight years later for the full amendment ledger.

Explore the Utah Compromise

Official Sources

• HB 3001 (2018 2nd Special Session)
• Utah Elections (Prop 2 results archive)
• Utah Center for Medical Cannabis
• LDS Church Newsroom