Utah’s Medical Cannabis program has come a long way in just a few short years. It is still not perfect, but what an improvement we’ve seen since the program was first launched. Are you generally happy with the way things are right now? A survey conducted by the state late last year indicates most patients are.
It’s easy to be dissatisfied with certain aspects of Utah’s Medical Cannabis program. So we are encouraged to see such positive data from the state survey. It shows that we are definitely moving in the right direction. It demonstrates that most patients are being well served. We think that this is good.
Below are five questions from the survey along with our summaries of the responses. The data really is encouraging.
Note that all the questions on the survey asked participants to choose one of five responses ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. On the question of pharmacies consistently having the medicine patients need, 61% combined to either agree or strongly agree.
This particular statistic is important in light of the fact that the industry talks a lot about access challenges. Those challenges are real, but the majority of patients are finding the Medical Cannabis products they need when they visit their local pharmacies.
Quality is always a concern when consumers buy things. Perhaps it’s a greater concern when you’re talking medicine. Fortunately, 78% of the roughly 8,900 survey respondents are happy with the quality they get from their pharmacies. Quality really does matter in the Medical Cannabis world. High quality products just work better.
Quality is important, but Medical Cannabis is such that people also need access to a variety of products and delivery methods. Survey data suggests that Utah’s pharmacies are delivering. Approximately 57% of the survey respondents are happy with the variety they have access to.
Next up, the survey asked patients whether they regularly need to alter their medications to get the dose they need. Surprisingly, 72% either disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement. It would appear as though patients are able to use their medicines off-the-shelf without any dosage modifications necessary.
We are guessing this could be largely related to education among patients, QMPs, and PMPs. The more we learn about cannabis as a medicine, the more we understand how to use it effectively. The fact that so many patients don’t feel they have to alter their medicines indicates we’re on the right track.
Finally, 68% of Utah’s Medical Cannabis patients say they are happy with the access they have through local pharmacies and home delivery service. This is definitely good stuff. We aren’t sure if the number would be so high were home delivery not available in the state. But now that it is, patients located virtually anywhere in Utah can have their medicine delivered.
If you are a current patient, we trust your experience has been good so far. Both the industry and state regulators have been working diligently over the last several years to make the program as good as it can be.
If you aren’t a patient but think you might qualify, we invite you to make an appointment with a QMP at any one of our clinics. We can help you obtain your Medical Cannabis Card and get you started on your journey to feeling better.
