Utah lawmakers have had second thoughts about asking the state to dispense medical cannabis, voting in a Monday special session to leave distribution in the hands of private business.
A large package of amendments to the state’s medical cannabis law unanimously passed both sides of the Utah Legislature on Monday evening and will take effect as soon as Gov. Gary Herbert signs it. The bill’s largest change was to scrap a proposed state-centralized system for delivering cannabis to patients, a plan that was criticized as unworkable and out of compliance with federal law.
The legislation, SB1002, makes several other emergency fixes so the state’s cannabis program can ramp up on schedule and patients will face less legal risk for consuming the plant-based substance.