Utah Governor Candidate’s Wife to Be Charged After Mailing Pot

It turns out that pot will be on the ballot even in Utah this November.

But it won’t be a reform bill. Rather, Donna Weinholtz, wife of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Weinholtz, will be charged with possession of pot after authorities found she’d tried to send herself marijuana through the mail—and then discovered two pounds of it in their Salt Lake City home.

Needless to say, marijuana is illegal in Mormon-dominated Utah.

Federal prosecutors took a pass on the case, but now Tooele county prosecutors say they will proceed.

It’s a tangled tale.

The candidate and his wife Mary knew an investigation was going on. Mike Weinholtz  had revealed that his wife had been accused of possession.

Mike Weinholtz, a wealthy businessman, announced soon after winning his party’s nomination in April that he would advocate for legalizing medical marijuana in Utah because his wife was under investigation for pot possession. He has repeatedly declined to offer details about it, citing an ongoing investigation. 

He said his wife used the drug to relieve pain caused by arthritis and nerve damage.

The U.S. attorney’s office confirmed in July it was investigating Donna Weinholtz but offered few details.

The case was moved out of Salt Lake City county because the top prosecutor there was a political ally of Weinholtz. The announcement from Tooele County that she would be charged came Wednesday.

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