3rd Annual Utah Cann Review
The 3rd Annual Utah Cann Cannabis Business Conference and Expo was held last weekend (March 13-14) at the Utah State Fairgrounds.
The main floor was filled with a number of booths from various local cannabis-related businesses, selling everything from CBD products to t-shirts. There were also a few booths that offered services and information on obtaining a medical cannabis card, in addition to a local dispensary, Deseret Wellness. After browsing the booths I proceeded to the “Compassionate Use Panel.”
Compassionate Use Panel
The Compassionate Use Panel was moderated by Christine Stenquist of TRUCE and it consisted of four individuals who had a story to tell about how cannabis has affected their lives in dramatic ways by addressing the trauma that has occurred in their lives and helped them deal with the various medical and psychological conditions that come with it.
Zach Chase experienced trauma at a very young age when he was only 5 years-old and his uncle committed suicide. Years of therapy followed, but with little success. After having back surgery from an injury he incurred, Zach was put on a variety of opioids and sleep medications that just made him feel like a zombie most of the time and didn’t really help at all. His misery got so bad, he tried to end his life three times. Fortunately, Zach moved to Colorado where cannabis was completely legal, and he was able to get off opioids almost immediately.
Next, Wendy Garvin from Unsheltered Utah addressed the issue of homelessness and how cannabis would be extremely helpful for those who are on the street and addicted to drugs such as meth. Wendy spoke of a client who is homeless, addicted to meth and living with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The client’s disorder is so bad, she spends nearly her entire life trying to find hot water and a shower. Cannabis would help her tremendously in dealing with this, but since she is homeless, she can’t afford a medical cannabis card, so she uses meth to cope instead. In summing up the sad reality, Wendy poignantly stated, “People who need it the most, can afford it the least.”
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Following Wendy, Chirine Touati spoke about a very traumatic experience she had in her own home. Chirine is a card-holding medical cannabis patient who has multiple sclerosis (MS). One day someone broke into her home and proceeded to assault her. Her son, who was home at the time, came to her defense and shot the intruder once. He did not die. When the police arrived, Chirine was treated more like a criminal than a victim. After obtaining a search warrant, the police took from her home all of her medical cannabis and the gun, but ironically left all her pharmaceutical medication. Her son has been charged with murder. Chirine (who lives in Utah County) believes she was targeted because of her race, in addition to her being a medical cannabis patient, which law enforcement apparently needs more education on.
Finally, Drew Reese, a veteran who struggles with both PTSD and agoraphobia, discussed how cannabis helped him in ways the Veterans Administration (VA) never could. Drew explained how the VA put him on a combination of different drugs to deal with his condition—something the VA refers to as their “Combat Cocktail.” It wasn’t until Drew discovered cannabis that he felt his condition improved. However, being on Disability, Drew’s income is very limited, and he has a hard time affording medical cannabis in Utah, which is expensive compared to the black market. In addition, being agoraphobic, Drew can’t just easily drive across the state line to purchase more affordable cannabis.
With a total of only 8 grows and 15 dispensaries in the entire state, the price of medical cannabis in Utah is one of the highest in the nation, making it inaccessible to those on a fixed income. Drew estimated his medicine would cost about $1,530 per month from Utah dispensaries. By contrast, he can get the same amount (and of equal quality) off the black market for around $600. Drew says, Utah’s medical cannabis program functions more like a drug cartel than a medical program, and only works for wealthier people or patients who require less cannabis.
The panel gave insights to the wide variety of medical cannabis patients in the state and the different issues that are facing in and out of the medical cannabis system.
The 3rd Annual Utah Cann Cannabis Business Conference and Expo was held last weekend (March 13-14) at the Utah State Fairgrounds.
After seeing the panel on “Compassionate Use,” I headed outside to check out the TRUCE “respite” tent. This was a small tent set up for medical cannabis patients to use and “medicate” in (i.e., vape).
Political Panel
The “Political Panel” consisted of former Salt Lake City mayor, Rocky Anderson; Utah House Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost; Utah Senator Luz Escamilla, TRUCE President and founder, Christine Stenquist, and TRUCE patient advocate, Justin Arriola.
Rocky Anderson briefly discussed how he became involved in the Utah cannabis movement back in 2018 when Utah’s Proposition 2 was passed by a majority of Utahns, but was later voided by the Utah Legislature shortly thereafter and replaced with a much more limited and regulated medical cannabis program.
As Rocky explained, this was just the latest in a string of propositions enacted by the people of Utah, but later overridden by the legislature. This included Medicaid Expansion, Better Boundaries, Civil Forfeiture, and most recently, Medical Cannabis. Rocky also made no apologies about the influence the LDS Church has on the legislature in determining which laws are passed, especially given 86% of the legislature is Mormon, while only about 68% of the state is, which is even smaller in Salt Lake County, where the majority of the population resides.
Sen. Dailey-Provost emphasized how Utah’s medical cannabis program is still in its infancy and is continuously changing. For her, affordability and access are the two main problems that need addressing with Utah’s program. However, there is always going to be a bit of tug-of-war between the advocates and opponents when it comes to finding the right balance of interests between these two groups—something she referred to as “unicorn” legislation.
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Rep. Escamilla believes the legislature’s motive in making Utah’s medical cannabis program as expensive and restrictive as possible isn’t about money, but control. The legislature and DABC seem to feel the same way about alcohol. Even though many of the legislators are teetotalers and never drink, they have no problem regulating alcohol, making it as expensive and inaccessible as possible.
On a more positive note though, the panel pointed out how Utah may became a model for doing banking transactions for cannabis on a federal level. In fact, Utah is the only state so far that has a credit union that does business with local dispensaries. Even though credit unions are private (unlike banks) and less regulated, this is certainly a step in the right direction.
Its clear Utah’s medical cannabis program is both overpriced and over-regulated. Much like the DABC, the program is essentially a monopoly run by a handful of players who can artificially inflate their prices, making it unaffordable if not unattainable for those patients who need it the most. Sadly though, unlike alcohol, cannabis is a medicine and essential to the health and well-being of many patients in Utah.
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