The Utah Legislature will likely consider legislation in the upcoming legislative session that would make dozens of changes to the state’s medical cannabis law in the months leading up to the program’s launch, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers (R-Cedar City) is the main sponsor of the forthcoming legislation, according to the news outlet.
A key piece of the proposal would expunge the criminal records of patients who were prosecuted in the past for cannabis possession, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The bill also removes a requirement that cannabis flower must be sold in a blister pack, instead allowing it to be sold in glass jars, according to the news outlet.
In addition, the legislation attempts to tackle testing for drivers under the influence of cannabis, as well the issue of CBD, which can cause consumers to fail drug tests due to trace amounts of THC.
The bill also seeks to adjust or remove an existing cap on the number of cannabis patients each doctor can have, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Utah voters approved Proposition 2 in 2018 to legalize medical cannabis in the state, and this latest bill is the most recent in a flurry of changes made to the original law. A controversial compromise bill passed in late 2018, weeks after the passage of Proposition 2, to make several key adjustments to the law, and last summer, the state scrapped a proposed residency requirement for cannabis cultivation licenses, opening the market up to out-of-state businesses.
Lawmakers held a special session of the legislature in September and passed additional amendments that eliminated the Utah’s original plan for state-run dispensaries and that increased the number of “cannabis pharmacy” licenses to 14.
Utah awarded eight cultivation licenses in July, and selected its 14 medical cannabis pharmacy licensees earlier this month.
The Utah Legislature will convene for its upcoming 45-day legislative session on Jan. 27. The state is expected to launch its first medical cannabis sales in March.
