Medical Cannabis Market Analysis Input Meeting
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Center for Medical Cannabis held an in-person and virtual meeting last Tuesday (Oct. 25). The purpose of the meeting was for DHHS to gather input from the public and the industry regarding medical cannabis product quality, supply, and variety. Utah law provides that DHHS shall conduct an annual analysis of current and anticipated market for medical cannabis. The annual market analysis is to be used by DHHS and UDAF (Utah Department of Agriculture and Food) to determine if additional cannabis pharmacy licenses are needed in Utah. DHHS is to consult with public and hold public meeting as part of the market analysis. Prior to this meeting on October 20th, DHHS issued a bulletin on their website warning of synthetic or derivative ingredients that be found in Utah’s medical cannabis program.
Factors the DHHS must take into account in its analysis are the following:
High potential for growth in the number of medical cannabis card holders located in one
or more regions.Access to medical cannabis home delivery service in the state or in certain economic
regions.Commuting patterns and economic activity in specific regions.
Distance for medical cannabis patients or potential medical cannabis patients residing in certain economic regions of the state from their home to the nearest medical cannabis
pharmacy location.
The adequate or inadequate quality, supply, or variety of medical cannabis
Other factors
Public Comments
Public comments were accepted regarding the following 3 topics:
Evidence of adequate or inadequate medical cannabis product quality.
Evidence of adequate or inadequate medical cannabis product supply.
Evidence of adequate or inadequate medical cannabis product variety.
Public comments were limited to 2 minutes. Below is a summary of those comments.
Scott Ericson (Standard Wellness) believes there is plenty of demand to meet the supply available, but would like to see more flower products on the market.
Alyssa Smailes (Utah Cannabis Association) stated that most cannabis cultivators in the state haven’t reached their limit on the square footage they’re allowed to use in growing cannabis. She thinks this needs to be increased before issuing more licenses.
Michelle McOmber (Utah Medical Association) believes there are not enough high CBD/low THC products available on the market and would like to see this change.
Emily Tucker, a cannabis patient, complained of gummies she purchased that were moldy. In addition, she would like to treat her son (who has anxiety) with CBD, but is concerned about the quality and safety of the CBD products out there.
Zac Newel King, a cannabis patient for over 25 years, would like to see more diversity in products with different types of terpenes in them. He also experienced throat burning after consuming a cannabis product that contained synthetic ingredients.
Drew Reese (TRUCE Utah) believes the cannabis market in Utah is overregulated with no consistency in product, with some cannabis vaping carts not containing a full gram as described.
Christine Stenquist (President, TRUCE Utah) is very concerned about degradants that have been found in some cannabis products across the state. She said the state needs to get more educated on cannabinoids and stop “micro-managing” the market and what patients are allowed to use. According to Stenquist, this is “specialized medicine” and when the state cracks down and overregulates, patients turn to the black market, and without these patients, there will be no cannabis program in Utah.
Chirine Touati, a cannabis patient who has multiple sclerosis, is concerned about the synthetics found in Utah products, which could affect her liver enzyme levels, and thinks the quality of products should be monitored more closely.
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Sherman Hom, M.D. (Medical Genomics) is concerned about possible unsafe cannabis products due to inadequate microbial testing standards, which needs to be improved.
Mike Moss, M.D., a medical toxicology expert, would like to see smaller doses of products available to patients.
Shelley Ulrich (Utah Patients for Cannabis and Natural Choices) is concerned about cannabis product labels not listing the terpenes contained in it. In addition, Shelley pointed out Utah’s medical cannabis is the most expensive compared to its neighboring states.
River Healy, a cannabis patient, hasn’t been able to find a herb vaporizer that works properly, especially when compared to using a lighter (or flame) which is prohibited under Utah law.
Nathaniel Taggard, a cannabis patient, expressed to a pharmacist he needed “good, clean product.” A product containing Delta-8 was recommended to him. When he asked about Delta-8, he was told it was still THC. After taking the product, he started to yawn uncontrollably and eventually blacked out. He tried it again the next day, but the same thing happened. When he tried to return it to the dispensary, he wasn’t offered a refund, but just half off another product
Zachary Chase, a TRUCE advocate and patient, shared a similar story of blacking out after purchasing a product from Riverside Farms. Zachary has been using cannabis for a long time and had never had this happen before.
More information and slides presented during this meeting can be found here.
A video of the meeting can be view here.
To file a complaint against a medical cannabis pharmacy, licensed courier, or medical provider go here.
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