Did you know there are six types of Utah Medical Cannabis Cards? You’re probably familiar with the first: Patient Cards. That’s the standard card that any patient over the age of 21 would receive. Then there are Guardian Cards for — you guessed it — guardians of underage Medical Cannabis patients. Those go hand-in-hand with Provisional Cards (cards given to minor patients). Coming soon, we’ll see Conditional Cards: cards that give you access to the pharmacies while waiting for your Patient Card to be approved. (Read more about Conditional Cards here.) We’ve got Non-Resident Cards, then there’s the sixth card: Caregiver Cards. These cards are used for patients who are unable to visit the pharmacy themselves and need to appoint somebody to pick up their medicine. If you or someone you know would benefit from a Caregiver Card, we’ve broken it down into 8 simple steps. Let’s go through it together.
The first step to becoming a caregiver is to befriend a Utah Medical Cannabis patient. There are almost 50,000 of us!
Before you can get your own Caregiver Card, a patient in the program needs to first tell the state who they’d like to have help them out. To do this, the Medical Cannabis patient simply needs to head to evs.utah.gov and navigate to the “Caregivers” section of their existing EVS application. Once the patient hits “+New
Caregiver” and adds the new caregiver’s information, they’ll save and submit the application. This will trigger an email to send to the caregiver listed with additional instructions.
The caregiver application process isn’t much different than the patient application process, but there is one important step to note. After you’ve created your Utah ID login, you’ll be asked if you’d like to complete Patient, QMP, or Caregiver Registration. Click “Caregiver Registration,” complete the application with your information, and hit “Register.” You’ll then be taken to the original login page where you can log in to your application and continue filling out the required information. Don’t forget to save and submit! (Get detailed EVS save and submit instructions here if needed.)
Immediately after saving and submitting, your status will change to “Awaiting Payment.” Follow the instructions at the top of the EVS screen to navigate to make your payment. Your first-time registration fee is $68.25. (Note: You’re able to act as a caregiver to two Medical Cannabis patients. You’ll pay $15 for your second patient Caregiver Card should you need one.)
After you submit your payment, you’ll get an email from the Department of Health to start the background check process. Because we’re dealing with a schedule I substance, the state requires a clean background check for each person who enters the pharmacy to purchase cannabis without approval for medical use by a provider.
During this time, UDOH simply confirms that all of the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed on your application. This process can take up to 15 days from the date your background check clears.
Once UDOH confirms that each requirement has been met, you will receive your Medical Cannabis Caregiver Card via email. You can then save the card on your phone or print it out for a physical copy.
Now you’re ready to head to your nearest Medical Cannabis pharmacy. We’ve got 14 in the state — find one that’s closest to you, browse the menu, and check out reviews here.
It’s really that easy! If you need assistance with this process or have additional questions, please comment below or give us a call. We’d love to hear from you.
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We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that we have statewide delivery available in Utah. Our friends at WholesomeCo Cannabis deliver to 99% of Medical Cannabis patients in the state — whether you’re five minutes from them or five hours — for no additional fee. Find out when/if WholesomeCo delivers to your area here and get to shopping!
*article updated as needed for accuracy*
