Salt Lake City, UT: Members of the Utah House and Senate unanimously approved legislation revising the state’s nascent medical cannabis access program during a special legislative session this week.
Under the revised plan, the distribution of medical cannabis products will no longer be overseen by public health regulators. Rather, the state will license as many as 14 private entities throughout the state to dispense cannabis products to authorized patients. The new legislation also permits courier services to engage in cannabis deliveries to those patients who either reside a significant distance from an operating dispensary or who are homebound.
Republican Gov. Gary Herbert expressed support for the changes, stating, "The bill will help provide safe and efficient access to an important medical option for patients while also taking public safety into consideration."
This is the second time in less than a year that lawmakers have convened a special session to amend the state’s medical cannabis law. Voters in 2018 approved Proposition 2, which legalized the use and dispensing of medical cannabis to qualified patients. Shortly thereafter, lawmakers held a special legislative session where they voted to repeal and replace the initiative law with their own legislation. Specifically, lawmakers eliminated patients’ option to home cultivate cannabis, narrowed the list of qualifying conditions, and placed additional restrictions on the dispensing of cannabis products, among other changes.
For more information, contact Carly Wolf, NORML State Policies Coordinator, at (202) 483-5500.