Medical Marijuana in Utah and Proposition 2
Utah was one of the first States to outlaw marijuana in 1915.
With the passage of Proposition 2 for the legal use of Medical Marijuana in Utah, the States Lawmakers have decided to forego the vote, and will, of the people and make changes to the proposition and draft their own legislation. Changes not mentioned in Proposition 2 as it was presented to the citizens in the ballot are included with the bills text. One major item to note, the ability for citizens having an affliction that affects less than 200,000 individuals in the United States using opioids, or not using Opioids or opiates but allergic to them or not able to use opioids or opiates, is the ability to qualify for a Medical Marijuana card as outlined in:
Qualifying conditions for medical marijuana:
26-61a-104.
2) For the purposes of this chapter, each of the following conditions is a qualifying
33 condition:
(i) affects less than 200,000 individuals in the United States, as defined in Section 526
68 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and
69 (ii) is not adequately managed despite treatment attempts using:
70 (A) conventional medications other than opioids or opiates; or
71 (B) physical interventions;
These conditions are not listed as a qualifying condition in the House bill, but was listed in Proposition 2. This seems to ensure that if have a rare condition and you are not on conventional medications, but are on Opioids or Opiates, you must stay on Opioids or Opiates and not have medical access to Marijuana according to the preceding reference for 26-61a-104 (2) (I). Using Medical Marijuana that is safer, possibly more effective, and not subject to overdose and addiction is not an option. If you are in the controlled substance database, for any reason, that could prevent a citizen from acquiring a Medical Marijuana Card. The database includes almost all prescriptions that require a doctor and pharmacist to prescribe and sell. Also, if a citizen has a history for any item listed under the controlled substance database created in Utah Code Section 58-37f-201; they can have their request denied.
Qualifying conditions for getting a medical marijuana card in Utah:
Effective 2/28/2020
26-61a-104. Qualifying condition
26-61a-104. Qualifying condition.
| (1) | By designating a particular condition under Subsection (2) for which the use of medical cannabis to treat symptoms is decriminalized, the Legislature does not conclusively state that: (a) current scientific evidence clearly supports the efficacy of a medical cannabis treatment for the condition; or (b) a medical cannabis treatment will treat, cure, or positively affect the condition. |
| (2) | For the purposes of this chapter, each of the following conditions is a qualifying condition: (a) HIV or acquired immune deficiency syndrome; (b) Alzheimer’s disease; (c) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; (ALS oka Lou Gehrigs’s disease) (d) cancer; (e) cachexia; (f) persistent nausea that is not significantly responsive to traditional treatment, except for nausea related to: (i) pregnancy; (ii) cannabis-induced cyclical vomiting syndrome; or (iii) cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome; (g) Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis; (h) epilepsy or debilitating seizures; (i) multiple sclerosis or persistent and debilitating muscle spasms; (j) post-traumatic stress disorder that is being treated and monitored by a licensed mental health therapist, as that term is defined in Section 58-60-102, and that: (i) has been diagnosed by a healthcare provider or mental health provider employed or contracted by the United States Veterans Administration, evidenced by copies of medical records from the United States Veterans Administration that are included as part of the qualified medical provider’s pre-treatment assessment and medical record documentation; or (ii) has been diagnosed or confirmed, through face-to-face or telehealth evaluation of the patient, by a provider who is: (A) a licensed board-eligible or board-certified psychiatrist; (B) a licensed psychologist with a master’s-level degree; (C) a licensed clinical social worker with a master’s-level degree; or (D) a licensed advanced practice registered nurse who is qualified to practice within the psychiatric mental health nursing speciality and who has completed the clinical practice requirements in psychiatric mental health nursing, including in psychotherapy, in accordance with Subsection 58-31b-302(4)(g); (k) autism; (l) a terminal illness when the patient’s remaining life expectancy is less than six months; (m) a condition resulting in the individual receiving hospice care; (n) a rare condition or disease that: (i) affects less than 200,000 individuals in the United States, as defined in Section 526 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and (ii) is not adequately managed despite treatment attempts using: (A) conventional medications other than opioids or opiates; or (B) physical interventions; (o) pain lasting longer than two weeks that is not adequately managed, in the qualified medical provider’s opinion, despite treatment attempts using: (i) conventional medications other than opioids or opiates; or (ii) physical interventions; and (p) a condition that the Compassionate Use Board approves under Section 26-61a-105, on an individual, case-by-case basis. |
26-61a-104.
https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26/Chapter61A/26-61a-S104.html
Read the links below and see what the legislature has devised for the citizens concerning Medical Marijuana in Utah.
HB0024 – HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL LICENSING AMENDMENTS concerning the Utah Medical Cannabis Act.
To find a Medical Doctor for a recommendation to purchase Marijuana products from a Utah Marijuana Pharmacy, visit this link at the UDOH site:
https://medicalcannabis.utah.gov/locate-a-provider/
CANNABIDIOL PRODUCT ACT
https://le.utah.gov/~2018/bills/static/SB0130.html
Evan Vickers
professional Affiliations: Cedar City Council, 1987-99; Utah Pharmacists Association, Board of Directors, 2005-07; American Associated Pharmacies Board of Directors, 2001-12; Iron Mission Foundation Board; Valley View Medical Center Board of Directors; UPHA, Legislator of the Year, 2009; Utah Medical Association, Legislator of the Year, 2012
Conflict of Interest
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT PHARMACIST/BUSINESS OWNER-BULLOCH’S DRUG STORE
RETAIL Pharmacist-TOWNSHIP PROFESSIONAL PHARMACY
MEDICAL CANNABIS ACT AMENDMENTS
H.B. 210 Qualifying Conditions for Medical Cannabis
https://le.utah.gov/~2019/bills/static/SB0161.html
House Bill proposing changes to the Hemp CBD law
INDUSTRIAL HEMP PROGRAM AMENDMENTS 5 February 2020
COBI 2019: Agriculture: Plant Industry – Background
https://le.utah.gov/lfa/cobi/cobi.html?cobiID=485&tab=backgroundTab&year=2019
CANNABIS CULTIVATION AMENDMENTS
https://le.utah.gov/~2018/bills/static/HB0197.html
H.B. 197 4-41-20 ” (a) cannabis cultivated in the state pursuant to this chapter is cultivated from
86 state-approved seed sources
The State shall decide where growers can buy their seeds from. Only from “State-Approved seed sources” WHAT COULD BE WRONG WITH THAT? Does the State approve corn seeds to keep GMO seeds from being sold? See our page titled The Future of Marijuana
THC and CBD Sources
THC and CBD products from marijuana is becoming an increasing market. The regulation of Hemp and Marijuana could become problematic because of the government intervention trying to control and regulate it. There are reports of THC and CBD being extracted from certain lichens and mosses. Should the government control and regulate lichens and moss? There are also reports that Yeast can be modified to produce THC and CBD. The large Breweries could provide a new source for THC and CBD. They are already set up with suppliers of brewers yeast and know the fermentation process very well. Should the government control and regulate yeast and the breweries? Trying to put more regulations on the breweries could cost taxpayers millions of dollars in litigation. The future of marijuana could be bright and promising, or it could be shadowed in the darkness of too much government regulation.
Effective 9/23/2019
26-61a-115. Analogous to prescribed controlled substances.
When an employee, officer, or agent of the state or a political subdivision makes a finding, determination, or otherwise considers an individual’s possession or use of cannabis, a cannabis product, or a medical cannabis device, the employee, officer, or agent may not consider the individual’s possession or use any differently than the lawful possession or use of any prescribed controlled substance, if the individual’s possession or use complies with:
(1) this chapter;
(2) Title 4, Chapter 41a, Cannabis Production Establishments; or
(3) Subsection 58-37-3.7(2) or (3).
Enacted by Chapter 5, 2019 Special Session 1
THE GENESIS OF MARIJUANA PROHIBITION and early laws in Utah and Texas
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=76539
https://www.ukcia.org/research/fruit/fruit3.htm
