Here at Utahmarijuana.org, we are huge proponents of regular consultations between Medical Cannabis patients and their medical providers. You can never consult too much when you are dealing with a chronic medical condition. Where Medical Cannabis is concerned, there is yet another reason beyond getting the most from your treatment: state purchase limits.
Utah’s Medical Cannabis law has come a long way. Lawmakers have done their best to craft a program that complies with the original voter proposition and meets patient needs. To that end, they have placed limits on the amount of Medical Cannabis patients can purchase.
State law allows Medical Cannabis patients to purchase up to 113g of unprocessed flower or 20g of THC in non-flower products, including vape cartridges and tinctures. The limits apply to monthly purchases.
This means that if you are a patient who prefers unprocessed flower, you do not have to purchase the total amount in one visit to your local pharmacy. You can make four separate purchases per month up to the maximum of 113g. The same goes for THC products.
Although it might not seem like regular consultations with your medical provider matter in terms of state purchase limits, they really do. Here is why this is so:
Let us say your Qualified Medical Provider (QMP) wrote in your dosing guidelines that you should consume half a gram of cannabis daily. The total monthly amount for those guidelines would be 15g. That would be your monthly limit.
Even though state law allows the purchase of up to 113g of unprocessed flower per month, you would be subject to the lower limit because of your medical provider’s dosing guidelines. In essence, your purchases are limited to the least possible amount needed to treat your condition, up to the 113g and 20g limits established by the Utah statute.
We can break this down into even simpler terms by saying that your medical provider needs to know how you are doing on your Medical Cannabis journey. If your current dosage guidelines are not cutting it for you, make an appointment to consult with your medical provider. Your medical provider can modify the guidelines as needed.
It has been our experience that QMPs are genuinely interested in helping their patients get dosage and frequency right. The right dosage is key to helping get the most from your Medical Cannabis treatment.
As long as you are consulting with your medical provider about dosage guidelines, we recommend that you talk about delivery methods as well. Delivery method is one of the more confusing aspects of Medical Cannabis, especially among patients new to cannabis treatments.
Delivery methods impact what you feel as well as how quickly you feel it. Vaping and tinctures are among the two most popular delivery methods because they introduce THC into the bloodstream very quickly. On the other hand, a patient might not begin to feel the effects of an edible for hours.
Utah’s Medical Cannabis statute designates three types of medical providers to assist patients with Medical Cannabis. The QMP is one of them. The other two are Limited Medical Providers (LMP) and Pharmacy Medical Provider (PMP). The one thing that they all have in common is a desire to help.
Remember that state law limits the amount of Medical Cannabis you can purchase each month. Be sure to consult with your medical provider if your current dosage guidelines are not working for you.
