A Utah state senator decided to try cannabis before the state’s upcoming vote on a medical marijuana initiative and a legislative special session on the subject. Sen. Jim Dabakis, a Democrat from Salt Lake City, drove to a Las Vegas dispensary for the experience. Dabakis made it clear in a video that he posted to Facebook that he was trying cannabis for the first time.
“Now, I have to admit somewhat shyly, I have never tasted, smoked, eaten, or shot up marijuana in my life,” he said.
Utah voters will decide on Proposition 2, a medical marijuana initiative, in November’s midterm election. And in what many see as an attempt to derail that initiative, legislators are expected to hammer out a compromise on medical marijuana at a special session after the election. Dabakis said that the upcoming debate inspired his decision to try cannabis.
“It dawned on me (last) Wednesday on the floor of the Senate that the legislature is going to have the final say on this medical marijuana,” Dabakis said. “I thought, ‘Maybe nobody on this floor has ever tried marijuana.’ I think if the legislature would actually try it they would … realize this is no big deal, and at least let those who are suffering have the help that they need.”
Dabakis’ video shows him outside the dispensary with the purchase he had just made inside. After a few moments of difficulty spent trying to overcome a child-resistant package, Dabakis triumphantly displayed a large tangerine cannabis gummy bear. He then ate half the edible, the amount dispensary staff had recommended for a first-time user.
After chewing the medicated candy, Dubakis seemed unimpressed by the confection.
“I wouldn’t recommend it as