This bill passed the Senate on a 17-12 vote but failed in a House committee on a 4-8 vote.

Libertas Institute supports this bill.

Senator Mark Madsen has sponsored legislation that would allow patients suffering from a few conditions to possess and use cannabis, with a doctor’s approval and recommendation. Senate Bill 73 would prohibit smoking, but allow the individual to ingest cannabis for relief or treatment through an oil, topical, vapor, or edible.

Last year, Senator Madsen attempted to legalize medical cannabis; the bill failed by a single vote in the Senate. This year’s bill is significantly different, and much more highly regulated—crafted with input from state agencies and regulators, patients, industry representatives, and advocates. It crafts the right approach in opening up a tightly regulated marketplace for this medicine, while providing a safe harbor to sick and suffering Utahns who should not be subjected to the criminal justice system.

Below is a detailed summary of the bill, broken down by category, with line numbers in the bill provided for reference.

Doctor Involvement

Physicians may not be employed by cannabis growing, processing, or testing facilities, or dispensaries, and may not have any ownership interest in a dispensary. (420, 1219-1222)

Physicians who recommend cannabis to a patient fill out and submit an application online during an office visit with the patient. The information is saved into the electronic verification system, to which state agencies and law enforcement have access. (788-791)

Physicians who voluntarily choose to recommend cannabis to patients under the law are shielded from civil and criminal liability, and licensure sanctions. (860-869)

A Compassionate Use Board of physicians may hear applications for a one-off compassionate use approval for conditions not listed in the bill; physicians and satisfactory evidence would be required, and the Department of Health would over final say in issuing a card. (930-996)

Physicians must be licensed and certified by their appropriate American medical board, in a limited few specialities pertaining to the list of conditions allowed for medical cannabis use. (999-1021)

Physicians who voluntarily choose to recommend cannabis must complete training administered by the Department of Health. (1008-1010)

Physicians may only recommend cannabis to 20% or less of their patients, unless they receive approval from the Compassionate Use Board upon demonstrating that the physician’s practice has unique characteristics that warrant an increase. (1011-1012, 1023-1027)

Physicians may only advertise online that they recommend cannabis; no other advertising is allowed. (1221-1222)

Law Enforcement and Oversight

An inventory control system is required, which tracks every single cannabis plant from its infancy, harvest, processing, and sale to the end user. (227-248)

from its infancy, harvest, processing, and sale to the end user. (227-248) A video recording system is required minoring all cannabis businesses at all times. 45 days worth of video must be stored, it must be tamper proof, and cameras must monitor “all handling and processing of cannabis.” (232-239)

An electronic verification system is required that allows patients and physicians to apply, connects to the inventory control system to track who purchased cannabis, where, and when, and will be accessible by law enforcement. (818-856)

The Departments of Agriculture and Health may revoke licenses and impose penalties for violation of the law—up to $5,000 per violation. (604-647, 1327-1350)

Medical cannabis patients, and industry owners and employees, are not subject to marijuana law penalties provided they are in full compliance with the Medical Cannabis Act. (1547-1639)

Patient Use

Smoking cannabis is prohibited. (1632-1637)

Applicants who qualify must submit to the Department of Health a signed recommendation by a physician, pay a fee, and provide personal information. (754-769)

A parent or legal guardian may obtain a permit for a minor who qualifies and receives a recommendation from a doctor. (770-787)

Frail patients may indicate up to two caregivers who may, upon application and approval, receive a card allowing them to obtain and transport cannabis to the patient. Caregivers must pass a background check and may be excluded for certain felonies. (792-804, 904-928)

Medical cannabis cards are valid for the lesser of: an amount of time specified by the physician; or two years. They are renewable provided that physician approval is given. (805-815)

Those who obtain a card must carry it with them at all times outside their residence, and cannabis must be in packaging that contains the bar code to allow it to be tracked. Such persons have a rebuttal presumption of legal use if questioned by law enforcement. (873-901)

Patients who do not qualify under the included list of conditions may seek approval from the Compassionate Use Board for their condition. (931-996)

Qualifying patients must have one of the following conditions: AIDS, Alzheimer’s, ALS, cancer, Crohn’s disease, Epilepsy, MS, PTSD related to military service, or chronic pain. To qualify for chronic pain, the physician must first determine that the individual is at risk of becoming chemically dependent on, or overdosing on, opiate-based pain medication. (1030-1046)

Government employees may not be terminated for using medical cannabis. (1050-1068)

In a custody dispute or proceedings to terminate parental rights, a court may not discriminate against a parent because of the parent’s possession or consumption of medical cannabis. (1418-1421, 1832-1834)

Medical cannabis patients have an affirmative defense against the state’s metabolite law that prohibits driving with any amount of metabolite, whether it is pharmacologically active and impairing or not. (1437-1441)

Police officers and Division of Child and Family Services employees may not take a child into custody on the sole basis of the possession or use of medical cannabis in the home, if done in compliance with the Medical Cannabis Act. (1717-1719)

Taxes

Tax revenue from the sale of cannabis is deposited into the Medical Cannabis Restricted Account. This revenue may only be used to fund the state regulation of medical cannabis. (735-750, 1683-1684)

Medical cannabis is exempt from sales tax. (1642-1651)

A retail purchase of medical cannabis is assessed a 4.7% tax. (1669-1671)

Cannabis Production Establishments (Grows, Processing facilities, Independent Testing Laboratories)

Applicants for a license must have $250,000 in liquid assets, submit a detailed application, pay a large application fee, and pass a background check. (256-338)

All employees must submit an application, pay a fee, pass a criminal background check. Convicted felons may not be employed by these facilities. (341-356)

Employees transporting cannabis must carry their registration card at all times; there is a rebuttable presumption that such individuals are carrying cannabis legally. Cannabis being transported must be labeled, bar coded, and monitored. (390-404, 449-464)

A security system is required that can provide notice of unauthorized entry to law enforcement. (408-415)

A physician may not be employed by these facilities. (420)

Local governments may not enact zoning ordinances that prohibit these facilities on the sole basis that they are cannabis production establishments; they are a permitted use in agricultural, industrial, or manufacturing zones. (423-429)

The Department of Agriculture may inspect a facility’s records up to three scheduled times per year, and one unscheduled time per year—or at any time the department has reason to believe a law has been violated. (432-440)

These facilities may not advertise to the general public in any way. (443-444)

Growing Cannabis

Home grows are prohibited.

Cannabis grown may not be visible from the street level outside the facility. (473-475)

The Department of Agriculture will establish administrative rules regarding pesticide and fertilizer use to ensure cannabis grown is safe for human use. (486-492)

All harvested cannabis is tracked with a unique identifier. (476-479)

Processing Cannabis

Products must have a label that contains detailed information about the cannabis, along with bar code and unique ID tracking to tie it to the processed and harvested cannabis from which it originated. (512-520)

Cannabis products must be in a tamper resistant package that is not appealing to children and is opaque. (521-526)

Cannabis products may not be in a physical form that is appealing to children. (525-526)

The Department of Health may create administrative rules regarding the physical criteria for cannabis products. (531-533)

No products are allowed that apply cannabis agents to the surface of an existing food product not produced by that facility (e.g. candy, cookies, and other pre-made foods). (534-536)

The Department of Agriculture may establish product quality standards for cannabis products to ensure safety for human consumption. (539-546)

Testing Cannabis

A person may not obtain a testing facility license, or work for a testing facility, if they have an ownership interest in, or are employed by, a dispensary, processing facility, or cultivation facility. (325-333, 557-558)

All cannabis or cannabis products must be tested to determine the cannabinoid profile, and if it contains any mold, fungus, pesticides, other microbial contaminants, or residual solvents. (566-576)

Tested cannabis that is found to be unsafe for human consumption must be reported to the Department of Agriculture. The cannabis may be seized, embargoed, or destroyed. (588-600)

Dispensaries