Latest changes to Utah's medical marijuana law will slash patient fees and add two rural pharmacies 

Utah's medical cannabis program is ever-changing as lawmakers iron out wrinkles in the system. New bills approved during the most recent legislative session will add two additional medical cannabis pharmacies in rural areas—bringing the state's total to 17—while reducing the fees that patients pay.

A few things stand out that make Utah's system unique, including that it is among the states to use licensed pharmacists. Proponents of this model argue that a licensed pharmacist can offer on-site assistance to patients, like explaining the potential side effects of combining cannabis with over-the-counter medications. Utah's medical cannabis system also continues to formally ban smoking, and lacks provisions for growing cannabis at home.

Most neighboring states allow patients to grow cannabis at home. Colorado, for instance, allows patients to grow six mature plants and up to 12 immature plants. Nevada allows for six plants per person and 12 per residence. Most other states allow smoking, while Utah permits only vaping and other flame-free dosage forms.

But Utah's restrictive, yet refined, medical cannabis system continues to draw attention from other states. And improvements are on the horizon that aim to refine several facets of the local industry. These changes address the numerous fees that add to the financial burden medical cannabis patients incur and the distances they must travel to access their medicine.

Market Forces
Advocacy and lobbyist groups worked hard to push for change during the 2025 legislative session, which concluded March 7. Among the bills that passed, HB357 will simplify the legal definition of a "physician," combining two types of doctors who can recommend medical cannabis.

The bill drops some fees for physicians, podiatrists and nurse practitioners, and allows physicians to recommend cannabis without registering with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.

It also adds a pregnancy warning to be displayed on cannabis product labels, starting in January.

Another bill, SB64, created new product information requirements showing side effects, dosage and contraindications. The bill further defines the parameters of Utah's medical cannabis system, but one of its most controversial changes is a prohibition on medical professionals issuing "recommendations"—the state's version of a prescription—for medical cannabis as part of an event that is held within 500 feet of a medical cannabis pharmacy property.

Meanwhile, cannabis can be purchased by any adult in one of the four recreational cannabis states that border Utah—Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Patients can drive a few hours to West Wendover, Nevada, or east to Dinosaur, Colorado, to get recreational cannabis without a medical cannabis card.

But keep in mind that carrying cannabis products back over the Utah border is illegal. People can also buy an eighth of cannabis in a Ziploc bag from an illicit dealer instead of going through Utah's highly regulated medical cannabis pharmacies, where the same amount is likely more expensive.

Several new amendments to Utah law aim to refine the medical cannabis system, with one goal being to better compete with the black market. Lawmakers want to attract patients to medicate legally by refining the program and making it more appealing.

"The intent is to correct some structural issues that many of us—members of the legislative Medical Cannabis Oversight Working Group—see as hindering progress on strengthening our medical cannabis program in ways that encourage patients out of the black market and into regular utilization of the medical program," Salt Lake City Democratic Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost told City Weekly.

Dailey-Provost sponsored HB203, which initially set out to increase the number of cannabis pharmacies in the state to 25. But she and other lawmakers and advocates faced opposition from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Drug Safe Utah and the Eagle Forum, among others. While the LDS Church does not entirely oppose medical cannabis use among its members, the organization pushes for a highly regulated version of the law in Utah.

Ultimately, two additional medical cannabis pharmacy licenses will be issued, but details on their locations have not yet been revealed. Both licenses must be awarded to locations in one of the state's smaller counties and in an area designated as medically underserved by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.

Vernal and Moab have been floated as contenders for the two rural dispensaries. Moab Mayor Joette Langianese, the Moab City Council and local law enforcement leaders all are in favor of bringing a medical cannabis pharmacy to the tourist town.

Since the nearest pharmacy is in Price, many patients in the Moab area simply cross state lines, where recreational cannabis stores are closer. It's difficult for patients in Vernal to travel long distances as well, which makes the recreational products in Dinosaur, Colorado, tempting at just a 36-minute trip away.

• Courtesy photo
• Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-SLC, said new changes to Utah’s cannabis law aim to keep patients out of the illicit drug market.

Dailey-Provost also sponsored legislation to crack down on hemp products that get people high. Another facet to Utah's black market is the hemp-derived cannabis market. Many hemp products contain active ingredients like delta-8 THC. Both concerned parents and the cannabis industry itself oppose these potent products, as it poses competition for medical cannabis pharmacies and its safety profile is less known.

Dailey-Provost explained how the situation is often described as a pseudo-recreational market and that these products can be found in grocery stores, convenience stores and mall kiosks.

"HB54 is a department-requested bill to make sure that regulators have the tools and resources they need to make sure that industrial hemp products that are sold in unregulated retail spaces do not have THC in them," Dailey-Provost said.

Delta-8 THC and other similar compounds generate a great deal of controversy between hemp companies, who say they are safe, and patients who oppose the use of those compounds.

The bill allows a patient to view a medical cannabis product's back panel before purchase, allowing them to see what terpenes and compounds are inside before committing to a strain or product. Pharmacies must post a picture of the back panel on the medical cannabis pharmacy's website.

Good Neighbors
Other legislative efforts aim to control odors emanating from cannabis production facilities. HB343, sponsored by Rep. Paul Cutler, R-Centerville, addresses unwanted smells that bother some neighbors.

"We have learned that cannabis odors, emitted at certain cycles of the growing and production cycle, can have a significant impact on neighboring businesses and residents," Cutler told City Weekly. "HB343 requires cannabis production facilities in an industrial zone to proactively plan to mitigate odors and be responsible, good neighbors to those around them."

• Courtesy photo
• Rep. Paul Cutler, R-Centerville, said the odors from cannabis facilities need to be managed better.

Proponents of medical cannabis noted that there are unwanted odors from other industries that go unchecked, such as biosolids drying beds in Rose Park that emanate pungent smells, or the fishy smell produced by asphalt plants.

Another bill, SB8, reduces many state-imposed fees, a welcomed change for many patients. It drops the transaction fee applied to every pharmacy purchase from $3 to $1.50 and slashes the patient renewal fee from $15 to $8. Several other fees for caregivers and guardians were also reduced.

While competing interests continue to shape Utah's medical cannabis industry, reduced fees and more pharmacies in rural areas could improve access and prevent people from crossing state lines for products.

Medical cannabis proponents say they worked on many other provisions with competing interests in a back-and-forth process that patient advocates in the state are used to.

"We work on this during the interim, and then we get to the session and all of what we needed comes to fruition, and then we have years like this when it doesn't," said Desiree Hennessy, executive director of the Utah Patients Coalition.

Like many other parents in Utah, Hennessy pushed for medical cannabis after seeing it help her adopted son Hestevan, who has cerebral palsy.

What's next for Utah? It could be recreational cannabis. A recent poll conducted by Noble Predictive Insights and commissioned by the nonprofit Keep Utah Medical found that 52% of Utahns support the legalization of recreational cannabis, while 38% do not and 9% are unsure. Despite the slim margin, the poll suggests recreational cannabis might have the support needed to pass a ballot initiative in Utah.