Utah residents scored a major victory when Proposition 2 was passed back in 2019. Since then, state lawmakers have worked hard to develop a good Medical Cannabis program that works for everyone. Keeping things from getting out of hand has meant implementing certain rules. For instance, there are limits on how much Medical Cannabis a patient can purchase and possess at a time in Utah.
The rules make it clear that a Medical Cannabis Card is not a license to do anything you want. Patients with valid cards must buy their medicines from a licensed pharmacy. They aren’t allowed to give their medications to others. If they arrange for home delivery, they must be present to accept the package when it arrives.
As for purchase and possession limits, they are put in place for a reason. We outline the rules below. If you are a new patient, do yourself a favor and familiarize yourself with them.
The language in Utah’s Medical Cannabis law stipulates that patients can possess enough Medical Cannabis to cover 30 days of treatment. In essence, you can possess a one-month supply at any given time. But there are conditions:
The exact same restrictions apply to purchases. This creates a sticky situation for patients in that they need to be careful about scheduling Medical Cannabis purchases in order to limit overlap.
Scheduling can be challenging, for sure. You could still experience overlap even after your best attempts to avoid it.
State law is also pretty specific in terms of acceptable delivery methods. The most important thing to note is that Medical Cannabis patients in the Beehive State are not allowed to smoke cannabis. It can be dry heated in a specialized vaping device. And of course, there are liquid vapes.
In addition, patients can get their medicine in the form of:
All unprocessed cannabis flower must be sold in opaque tamper-resistant packaging that includes a printed expiration date. The amount of plant material in each package must not exceed legal weight limits by more than 10% at the time of packaging.
If all of this seems confusing to you, no worries. Licensed pharmacies know the drill. They know what they can and cannot sell. They also know how much they are allowed to sell to patients during any given visit. You can always ask pharmacy staff if you have questions.
If you are a new Medical Cannabis patient, we encourage you to spend some time talking with your Pharmacy Medical Provider (PMP) to learn more about dosage and delivery. Your PMP is a wealth of information that is hard to find anywhere else.
Also bear in mind that Medical Cannabis pharmacies are required to keep meticulous records of every purchase. So even if you lose track and forget how much you bought and when, your local pharmacy will have those records. Together, you can make sure that everything you do is on the up and up.
Finally, a word about visitors to the state: they can apply for temporary Medical Cannabis cards prior to their visits. Purchase and possession limits still apply, and they aren’t allowed to bring cannabis with them into the state. All Medical Cannabis consumed in Utah must be bought here.
