Ten Licenses for Medical Cannabis in Utah

Kadie Gorman, Senior Community Editor

Medical marijuana is the use of the cannabis plant to treat a disease or condition. The recent change in the Utah law states that patients with a recommendation letter may legally possess marijuana in medical dosage form; they will be expected to continue to follow workplace, school, and other policies and laws that regulate marijuana possession and use. For instance, patients that use medical marijuana will need to abide by Utah’s “zero tolerance” law that prohibits driving with any measurable amount of marijuana in the body.
A number of studies show that marijuana can be harmful to our physical and mental health and can pose safety concerns. Medical marijuana can interfere with short-term memory and concentration, alter judgment and decision-making, reduce reaction time, impair coordination, and cause drowsiness.
While recreational use can be harmful, Utah voters approved a medical cannabis program via ballot, during last year’s vote for proposition two to be effective December 3, 2019 but days after the new law took effect the Utah Legislature replaced it with “HB3001” their compromise bill during a session. The law included significant changes on how medical marijuana could be legally recommended, sold, and consumed.
The bill provides for the cultivation, processing, medical recommendation, and patient use of medical cannabis. According to le.utah.gov, the Utah Department of Health received up to 130 applications from 60 different companies. They announced in January, the 10 companies that will ultimately be licensed to sell medical cannabis at 14 locations across the state beginning in March.
Companies that have received approval include Beehive’s Own (two licenses in Salt Lake City and Box Elder); Bloom Medicinals, Cedar City; Columbia Care, Springville; Curaleaf, Lindon; Deseret Wellness (two licenses in Park City and Provo); Justice Grown Utah (two licenses in Salt Lake City); Dragonfly Wellness, Salt Lake City, True North of Utah (two licenses in Logan and Ogden); and Wholesome Therapy, West Bountiful.
The pharmacy licenses were divided among the four geographic regions. According to the news outlet KSL.com, they are going to open in two main phases; eight pharmacies will open in March, while the other six are permitted to open in July.
Medical Cannabis is now accessible to the public through dispensaries for patients diagnosed with a qualifying condition such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Autism, Epilepsy, Debilitating Seizures, Crohn’s Disease, Cancer, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and served others that were not listed.
If a patient has one of the listed, qualified conditions they may attempt to apply for their own medical card, but if the patient is under 18 years of age, they would be required to have an approved and authorized caregiver that would accompany minors for Medical Marijuana Treatment. After being certified by a qualified physician and diagnosed with a qualifying condition the patient can then apply for a Medical Marijuana Card.
consult greenhealthdocs.com for additional information.