Utah Committee Advances Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana Telehealth Recommendations, Expand Low-THC Products in Pharmacies
- Utah House Bill 389 was approved 8 to 1 by a House committee to allow telehealth recommendations for medical marijuana and permit certain low-THC products to be sold through licensed pharmacies.
- The bill enables qualified medical providers to recommend medical marijuana via virtual visits, easing access for rural and mobility-limited patients.
- HB 389 introduces a uniform fee on each medical marijuana transaction, with revenue funding state administration costs through the Qualified Production Enterprise Fund.
- The bill expands the definition of medical marijuana to include low-THC products (under 0.3% THC), allows licensed cannabis processors to produce cannabinoid hemp products without extra licenses, and restructures the licensing advisory board into a Specialized Product Authority Licensing Board.
A Utah House committee voted 8 to 1 today to advance a bill that would allow telehealth recommendations for medical marijuana and let certain low-THC products be sold through licensed pharmacies. Utah House Bill 389, sponsored by State Representative Jennifer Dailey-Provost (D), was approved today by the House of Representative’s Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee on an 8 to 1 vote. Prior to its passage, lawmakers voted 8 to 0 to substitute the bill, with the new language being largely the same as it was before with several technical changes. The measure will now be up for consideration by the full House.
The proposal would let qualified medical providers recommend medical marijuana to patients through virtual visits, removing current limits that largely confine telehealth certifications to a narrow group of patients. Supporters say that change would make it easier for rural and mobility-limited patients to maintain their medical marijuana cards without traveling long distances.
HB 389 would also create a “uniform fee” on each medical marijuana transaction. The Department of Agriculture and Food would set the amount, with revenue directed to the Qualified Production Enterprise Fund to cover the state’s costs in administering Utah’s marijuana, hemp and related product laws.
The bill further expands what counts as “medical marijuana” by adding a new category of “low THC product,” defined as a product for human use that contains less than 0.3% total THC or THC analogs on a dry-weight basis and is processed by a licensed cannabis processing facility. Those low THC products, when sold in a medicinal dosage form, would fall under the medical marijuana framework and could be sold in licensed pharmacies.
In addition, businesses already licensed as cannabis processing facilities could produce cannabinoid hemp products without obtaining a separate cannabinoid processor license, and the existing licensing advisory board would be restructured into a Specialized Product Authority Licensing Board with broader oversight over marijuana, hemp and kratom licensing disputes.
The full text of the proposal can be found by clicking here.