Medical Cannabis Patients in Utah Still Have No Access to Cannabis
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]E[/dropcap]ven though medical cannabis has been legalized in Utah, patients are still having trouble getting prescriptions and accessing their medicine—as promised.
According to the Associated Press, residents have technically been able to use medical cannabis legally in Utah since 2018, despite the fact that medical cards haven’t been implemented yet and there is nowhere to get cannabis.
Not only can patients not get cannabis easily in their home state, they can’t get a doctor’s recommendation. Many doctors are still skeptical about cannabis and unwilling to write prescriptions for something they don’t accept or understand.
“Our family doctor didn’t even want to talk about it, they wanted nothing to do with it,” said Mitch Hill, a 48-year-old construction superintendent from the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan.
Like many other patients, Hill explained that he travels to Colorado to get his medical cannabis, even though traveling over state lines and bringing cannabis back into Utah is technically prohibited, and the trip to get his medication is far more than most need to travel.
Currently, cannabis patients have to meet a specific list of qualifications, but even still, some think that medical cannabis is too lax.
“It helps sick people get relief, but it can create a false sense of security,” said Chris Lindsey, senior legislative counsel with the Marijuana Policy Project. “Moving a controlled substance across state lines is still against federal law, and then it’s up to the patients to defend themselves in court.”
Utah is known for its strict substance laws, from vape detectors in school bathrooms to children being taken away if their parents use medical cannabis. As access to cannabis improves in Utah, it is yet to be seen whether cannabis patients will be able to access their medicine more easily.
