Weekend reads: Catch up on medicinal marijuana, Utah A.G. probe

If you had a busy week and like to spend part of your weekend catching up on the news, here are links to the week's top stories, including a few Trib Talk video chats and Friday's "Behind the Headlines" program featuring Tribune reporters talking about the week's news on KCPW 88.5/105.3 FM with Jennifer Napier-Pearce.

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The case for allowing limited use of marijuana

Reporter Kirsten Stewart travelled to Colorado to interview families who moved to the state solely to gain access to a cannabis extract that helps children who suffer from seizures. Others now make Colorado home to get marijuana legally to alleviate cancer suffering.

The push is on in Utah to permit the drug for limited medicinal use, with proponents making their case Monday to the Controlled Substance Advisory Committee, which advises lawmakers.

The issue also was the topic of a Trib Talk video chat you can watch here.

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More about former Utah A.G. Mark Shurtleff, current A.G. John Swallow

Reporter Tom Harvey wrote of online poker companies' efforts to get Mark Shurtleff's endorsement for processing poker payments in Utah despite the state's prohibition of gambling. Shurtleff on Tuesday hotly disputed aspects of the story in a Trib Talk video chat appearance you can watch here.

A day later, reporter Robert Gehrke, working with documents obtained through Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act, wrote of how Shurtleff's deputies sought potential criminal prosecution for Shurtleff "fixer" Mark Lawson.

Meanwhile, the legislative committee investigating John Swallow issued two more subpoenas in its probe and Swallow reached a deal with the panel to give investigators access to information they need to piece together data missing in his case.

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Imprisoned music producer gains supports

Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, former Utah Gov. Norm Bangerter and former Utah Supreme Court Justice Michael Zimmerman are among an all-star cast that sent a letter to President Obama asking him to commute the sentence of Weldon Angelos, a Utah music producer who received a 55-year sentence for carrying a firearm while selling a small amount of marijuana.

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Payday lenders thrive in Utah

A new state report counts 565 payday loan and title loan stores in Utah that charge an average 473 percent interest rate on loans. Watch for a discussion about these lenders on TribTalk at 12:15 p.m. Monday at sltrib.com

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All the week's news reviewed

Kirsten Stewart, Robert Gehrke and Brooke Adams all appeared on "Behind the Headlines" Friday with Jennifer Napier-Pearce on KCPW 88.5/105.3 FM. You can download a podcast here, or listen to the rebroadcast Sunday at 8 a.m. on KCPW.