It’s been 10 months since the launch of legal medical cannabis sales in Utah and the program’s early success has regulators and industry leaders excited to put 2020 and COVID19 behind them.
On November 6, 2018, Utah voters approved Proposition 2, which legalized the use of medical cannabis for qualifying patients in the state. Although 52% (562,072) of residents approved the proposition, the Utah Medical Cannabis Act (UMCA) was amended multiple times by the state’s Legislators – causing confusion and anger amongst those participating.
This Salt-Baked chart shows patient population by county through November 2020. Patient totals at the end of the year for Utah were 18,431.
Although these modifications were faced with legal challenges, and an uproar in the cannabis community, a measure that was termed a compromise bill by lawmakers was passed in December 2018.
Despite these difficulties, the program marches on into 2021 and patient participation is fueling the momentum.
On March 2, 2020, Mario Enriquez, 36-year-old resident of Layton, was the first Utah medical cannabis patient to purchase legally in the state. According to the Utah Department of Health (UDOH), 18,431 other residents have followed suit and registered with the state in 2020. Far exceeding original projections by lawmakers.
To date, only seven out of 14 pharmacies have opened their doors to patients. Those operating include Dragonfly Wellness (Salt Lake City), Perfect Earth Modern Apothecary (Logan), Perfect Earth Modern Apothecary (Ogden), WholesomeCo Cannabis (West Bountiful), Curaleaf (Lehi), Deseret Wellness (Provo), and Beehive Farmacy (Salt Lake City). The remaining unopened pharmacies have until the end of the first quarter of this year to open their doors to patients, according to the UDOH.
Chart supplied by the UDOH
Medical cannabis transactions at pharmacies by month.
Jeremy Sumerix, Market President at Deseret Wellness, is expecting to open their Park City location at the beginning of February, allowing access to those residing on the Wasatch back. Cedar City, Payson, and St. George residents will see their pharmacies next.
From March until November 2020, there was a total of 136,529 transactions at Utah medical cannabis pharmacies – totaling $17.9 million in sales revenue. In November alone, Utah patients made 27,322 transactions at pharmacies, which equaled $3.4 million in sales revenue.
The amount of jobs cannabis has created in the state is still unclear for 2020, but pharmacies are reporting there are 122 active pharmacy agents and 39 pharmacy medical providers working in the new industry.
Chart supplied by the UDOH
Utah medical cannabis sales revenue by month.
The state’s new medical cannabis program was designed to separate the industry into three unique groups, keeping it a closed market. Cultivator, Processor, and Pharmacy licenses were awarded during 2019 and these interlocked elements are all dependent on each other to operate.
To date, eight cultivation licenses have been awarded to separate companies. These companies are responsible for producing the cannabis biomass that is sold or used to create the other products found in the state’s medical cannabis pharmacies.
This Salt-Baked chart shows how much cannabis biomass each cultivator produced in 2020.
In 2020, these cultivators produced over 10,000 lbs. of cannabis biomass. Processors receive cured biomass, which is either trimmed and jarred for sale as vapable flower, or used to create salves, tinctures, vape cartridges, edibles, high-THC concentrates, and other products.
The new year also brings updates to Utah’s medical cannabis program.
As of January, Utahns will no longer be able to rely on out-of-state dispensaries to acquire cannabis products. All products consumed must be in their original Utah pharmacy packaging to be considered legal
Medical cannabis patients will also need a valid medical cannabis card issued from the UDOH in order to shop at a pharmacy, and have protections from prosecution for having cannabis in the state. Those 4,550 still using affirmative defense letters from doctors, which recommend cannabis for medical purposes, are no longer valid in 2021 – and registration with the state is required.
Currently, the state has 560 active Qualified Medical Providers (QMP) registering the state’s patients. The UDOH has approved 127 of those medical providers to recommend to up to 600 active cardholders at one time, while the other 433 are capped at 275 patients.
Legislators are again eyeing changes to the state’s medical cannabis law, which include enabling any state doctor to recommend the medication to up to 15 patients. Legislators will vote on the measure during a Legislative session later this month.
Patients under the age of 21 and those with conditions not listed by the UDOH are required to apply through petitioning the Compassionate Use Board. The Board approved 118 applications they received in 2020, while only denying one.
Although the program is struggling in its infancy, the UDOH is confident that supply will improve once companies have time to grow and manufacture more products, creating a stable program patients can rely on.
“Utah’s program came a long way in 2020 but there is much more work to be done,” said Richard Oborn, Director of the Center for Medical Cannabis at the UDOH. “The price and supply will improve in 2021 and 2022 as the cultivators and processors produce bigger volumes and varieties of cannabis products for medical cannabis pharmacies to sell to qualifying patients.”
According to Oborn, patients can look forward to exciting program expansions in 2021, which include home delivery, cashless payment options, and more doctors who can qualify patients.
“I’m excited about the way things are going and can also see that there are some things that can be tweaked and improved,” Oborn said. “We don’t have a perfect program right now, but I believe we are headed in the right direction and building a solid program that Utah can be proud of.”
