Despite a last-minute Hail Mary pass from some lawmakers and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah voters should have their moment at the polls and decide on medical marijuana as set forth by Proposition 2.

This is not an endorsement of the measure — we just feel it’s appropriate for voters who have fought for a voice to be able to express it at the polls. We also want to acknowledge how much of a fight it has been for medicinal cannabis supporters to get an effective proposal approved at the state level.

Proposition 2 supporters turned to the ballot after waiting for years for the Legislature to act. Over long, agonizing years, lawmakers have only taken incremental steps regarding cannabis, providing limited access for those suffering from epilepsy or only have a few months to live.

So with the process mostly stuck in first gear at the Capitol, medicinal cannabis supporters pursued a plebiscite. This is not an easy process in Utah — groups that wish to put an initiative on the ballot have to clear numerous hurdles, including gathering signatures from at least 10 percent of voters (based on the last presidential election). This 10 percent threshold needs to be met across the state and in at least 90 percent of state Senate districts.

Since 2016, initiative supporters needed to collect at least 113,143 signatures. For Proposition 2, supporters had 136 percent of the needed signatures.

As we head toward Nov. 6, there has been an expected escalation of campaign ads. Some of the ads against the proposition play on misconceptions — such as saying that a patient could obtain 120 joints at a time, when the initiative doesn’t allow for smokable marijuana.

The opposition ads also play the usual word games over cannabis, saying that medical marijuana should be dispersed from a pharmacy when pharmacies compliant with federal laws are prohibited from distributing pot.

Given how important this issue is, we urge voters to look beyond the campaign rhetoric and research what the initiative will actually accomplish (and what it won’t).

Some of these word games are carrying over into a tentative compromise over medicinal marijuana. A working draft shared by The Salt Lake Tribune last week eschews the phrase “dispensary” and opts for “medical cannabis pharmacy.” At first blush, it appears to be a distinction without much of a difference.

While it will be intriguing to see what happens with these discussions, they shouldn’t prevent people from speaking out at the polls. During a debate Wednesday, some lawmakers said legislative action would be the fastest way for Utah to get medical cannabis. Initiative supporters — who reportedly aren’t part of the discussions — indicated they doubted the Legislature would actually take action.

Given lawmakers’ languid pace on cannabis in recent years, history would bear out the medical cannabis supporters’ position.

Patients have been waiting for years for the Legislature to craft a solution. Should voters approve Proposition 2 next month, it’s only fair for the lawmakers to have to adapt to the electorate’s wishes.