contains cannabis or any tetrahydrocannabinol or THC analog in a total concentration of 0. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Conditional medical cannabis card: means an electronic medical cannabis card that the department issues in accordance with Subsection 26B-4-213(1)(b) to allow an applicant for a medical cannabis card to access medical cannabis during the department's review of the application. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Controlled substance database: means the controlled substance database created in Section 58-37f-201. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Department: means the Department of Health and Human Services. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Designated caregiver: means :
(a)
an individual:
(i)
whom an individual with a medical cannabis patient card or a medical cannabis guardian card designates as the patient's caregiver; and
(ii)
who registers with the department under Section 26B-4-214; or
(b)
(i)
a facility that an individual designates as a designated caregiver in accordance with Subsection 26B-4-214(1)(b); or
Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
Medical cannabis: means cannabis in a medicinal dosage form or a cannabis product in a medicinal dosage form. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Medical cannabis card: means a medical cannabis patient card, a medical cannabis guardian card, a medical cannabis caregiver card, or a conditional medical cannabis card. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Medical cannabis cardholder: means :
(a)
a holder of a medical cannabis card; or
(b)
a facility or assigned employee, described in Subsection(17)(b), only:
(i)
within the scope of the facility's or assigned employee's performance of the role of a medical cannabis patient cardholder's caregiver designation under Subsection 26B-4-214(1)(b); and
(ii)
while in possession of documentation that establishes:
(A)
a caregiver designation described in Subsection 26B-4-214(1)(b);
(B)
the identity of the individual presenting the documentation; and
(C)
the relation of the individual presenting the documentation to the caregiver designation. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Medical cannabis caregiver card: means an electronic document that a cardholder may print or store on an electronic device or a physical card or document that:
(a)
the department issues to an individual whom a medical cannabis patient cardholder or a medical cannabis guardian cardholder designates as a designated caregiver; and
Medical cannabis device: means a device that an individual uses to ingest or inhale cannabis in a medicinal dosage form or a cannabis product in a medicinal dosage form. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Medical cannabis guardian card: means an electronic document that a cardholder may print or store on an electronic device or a physical card or document that:
(a)
the department issues to the parent or legal guardian of a minor with a qualifying condition; and
Medical cannabis patient card: means an electronic document that a cardholder may print or store on an electronic device or a physical card or document that:
(a)
the department issues to an individual with a qualifying condition; and
acquires or intends to acquire medical cannabis or a cannabis product in a medicinal dosage form from a cannabis processing facility or another medical cannabis pharmacy or a medical cannabis device; or
(ii)
possesses medical cannabis or a medical cannabis device; and
(b)
sells or intends to sell medical cannabis or a medical cannabis device to a medical cannabis cardholder. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Medical cannabis treatment: means cannabis in a medicinal dosage form, a cannabis product in a medicinal dosage form, or a medical cannabis device. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Medicinal dosage form: includes a portion of unprocessed cannabis flower that:
(i)
the medical cannabis cardholder has recently removed from the container described in Subsection (42)(a)(ii) for use; and
(ii)
does not exceed the quantity described in Subsection (42)(a)(ii). See Utah Code 26B-4-201
Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Qualified medical provider: means an individual:
(a)
who meets the recommending qualifications; and
(b)
whom the department registers to recommend treatment with cannabis in a medicinal dosage form under Section 26B-4-204. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
State central patient portal: means the website the department creates, in accordance with Section 26B-4-236, to facilitate patient safety, education, and an electronic medical cannabis order. See Utah Code 26B-4-201
A cardholder described in Section 26B-4-213 may designate, through the state central patient portal, up to two individuals, or an individual and a facility in accordance with Subsection (1)(b), to serve as a designated caregiver for the cardholder.
(b)
(i)
Beginning on the earlier of September 1, 2021, or the date on which the electronic verification system is functionally capable of servicing the designation, a cardholder described in Section 26B-4-213 may designate one of the following types of facilities as one of the caregivers described in Subsection (1)(a):
(A)
for a patient or resident, an assisted living facility, as that term is defined in Section 26B-2-201;
(B)
for a patient or resident, a nursing care facility, as that term is defined in Section 26B-2-201; or
(C)
for a patient, a general acute hospital, as that term is defined in Section 26B-2-201.
(ii)
A facility may:
(A)
assign one or more employees to assist patients with medical cannabis treatment under the caregiver designation described in this Subsection (1)(b); and
(B)
receive a medical cannabis shipment from a medical cannabis pharmacy or a medical cannabis courier on behalf of the medical cannabis cardholder within the facility who designated the facility as a caregiver.
(iii)
The department shall make rules to regulate the practice of facilities and facility employees serving as designated caregivers under this Subsection (1)(b).
(c)
A parent or legal guardian described in Subsection 26B-4-213(2)(d), in consultation with the minor and the minor’s qualified medical provider, may designate, through the state central patient portal, up to two individuals to serve as a designated caregiver for the minor, if the department determines that the parent or legal guardian is not eligible for a medical cannabis guardian card under Section 26B-4-213.
(d)
(i)
Beginning on the earlier of September 1, 2022, or the date on which the electronic verification system is functionally capable of facilitating a conditional medical cannabis caregiver card under this Subsection (1)(d), upon the entry of a caregiver designation under Subsection (1) by a patient with a terminal illness described in Section 26B-4-203, the department shall issue to the designated caregiver an electronic conditional medical cannabis caregiver card, in accordance with this Subsection (1)(d).
(ii)
A conditional medical cannabis caregiver card is valid for the lesser of:
(A)
60 days; or
(B)
the day on which the department completes the department’s review and issues a medical cannabis caregiver card under Subsection (1)(a), denies the patient’s medical cannabis caregiver card application, or revokes the conditional medical cannabis caregiver card under 26B-4-246.
(iii)
The department may issue a conditional medical cannabis card to an individual applying for a medical cannabis patient card for which approval of the Compassionate Use Board is not required.
(iv)
An individual described in Subsection (1)(b)(iii) has the rights, restrictions, and obligations under law applicable to a holder of the medical cannabis card for which the individual applies and for which the department issues the conditional medical cannabis card.
(2)
An individual that the department registers as a designated caregiver under this section and a facility described in Subsection (1)(b):
(a)
for an individual designated caregiver, may carry a valid medical cannabis caregiver card;
(b)
in accordance with this part, may purchase, possess, transport, or assist the patient in the use of cannabis in a medicinal dosage form, a cannabis product in a medicinal dosage form, or a medical cannabis device on behalf of the designating medical cannabis cardholder;
(c)
may not charge a fee to an individual to act as the individual’s designated caregiver or for a service that the designated caregiver provides in relation to the role as a designated caregiver; and
(d)
may accept reimbursement from the designating medical cannabis cardholder for direct costs the designated caregiver incurs for assisting with the designating cardholder’s medicinal use of cannabis.
(3)
(a)
The department shall:
(i)
within 15 days after the day on which an individual submits an application in compliance with this section, issue a medical cannabis card to the applicant if the applicant:
(A)
is designated as a caregiver under Subsection (1);
(B)
is eligible for a medical cannabis caregiver card under Subsection (4); and
(C)
complies with this section; and
(ii)
notify the Department of Public Safety of each individual that the department registers as a designated caregiver.
(b)
The department shall ensure that a medical cannabis caregiver card contains the information described in Subsections (5)(b) and (3)(c)(i).
(c)
If a cardholder described in Section 26B-4-213 designates an individual as a caregiver who already holds a medical cannabis caregiver card, the individual with the medical cannabis caregiver card:
(i)
shall report to the department the information required of applicants under Subsection (5)(b) regarding the new designation;
(ii)
if the individual makes the report described in Subsection (3)(c)(i), is not required to file an application for another medical cannabis caregiver card;
(iii)
may receive an additional medical cannabis caregiver card in relation to each additional medical cannabis patient who designates the caregiver; and
(iv)
is not subject to an additional background check.
(4)
An individual is eligible for a medical cannabis caregiver card if the individual:
(a)
is at least 21 years old;
(b)
is a Utah resident;
(c)
pays to the department a fee in an amount that, subject to Subsection 26B-1-310(5), the department sets in accordance with Section 63J-1-504, plus the cost of the criminal background check described in Section 26B-4-215;
(d)
signs an acknowledgment stating that the applicant received the information described in Subsection 26B-4-213(9) .
(5)
An eligible applicant for a medical cannabis caregiver card shall:
(a)
submit an application for a medical cannabis caregiver card to the department through an electronic application connected to the state electronic verification system; and
(b)
submit the following information in the application described in Subsection (5)(a):
(i)
the applicant’s name, gender, age, and address;
(ii)
the name, gender, age, and address of the cardholder described in Section 26B-4-213 who designated the applicant;
(iii)
if a medical cannabis guardian cardholder designated the caregiver, the name, gender, and age of the minor receiving a medical cannabis treatment in relation to the medical cannabis guardian cardholder; and
(iv)
any additional information that the department requests to assist in matching the application with the designating medical cannabis patient.
(6)
Except as provided in Subsection (6)(b), a medical cannabis caregiver card that the department issues under this section is valid for the lesser of:
(a)
an amount of time that the cardholder described in Section 26B-4-213 who designated the caregiver determines; or
(b)
the amount of time remaining before the card of the cardholder described in Section 26B-4-213 expires.
(7)
(a)
If a designated caregiver meets the requirements of Subsection (4), the designated caregiver’s medical cannabis caregiver card renews automatically at the time the cardholder described in Section 26B-4-213 who designated the caregiver:
(i)
renews the cardholder’s card; and
(ii)
renews the caregiver’s designation, in accordance with Subsection (7)(b).
(b)
The department shall provide a method in the card renewal process to allow a cardholder described in Section 26B-4-213 who has designated a caregiver to:
(i)
signify that the cardholder renews the caregiver’s designation;
(ii)
remove a caregiver’s designation; or
(iii)
designate a new caregiver.
(8)
The department shall record the issuance or revocation of a medical cannabis card under this section in the controlled substance database.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 307, 2023 General Session Amended by Chapter 317, 2023 General Session
