Last verified: April 2026
Two-Agency Oversight
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (UDOHHS) houses the Center for Medical Cannabis (CMC), located at 195 N 1950 W in Salt Lake City and led since launch by Office Director Richard “Rich” Oborn, MPA. CMC licenses patients, recommending medical providers, pharmacy medical providers, pharmacy agents, courier agents, and the pharmacies themselves.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) regulates the upstream supply chain — cultivation (Title 4, Chapter 41a, capped at eight licensees), Tier 1 and Tier 2 processing, and the independent testing laboratory. Pharmacy regulatory authority itself moved from DHHS to UDAF during the 2023 General Session.
The program is entirely self-funded by statute, with revenue flowing into the Qualified Patient Enterprise Fund (DHHS, ~$9 million at FY2025 close) and the Qualified Production Enterprise Fund (UDAF, ~$2.3 million).
Utah Department of Health and Human Services — Center for Medical Cannabis
Patient Growth Trajectory
| Date | Active Patients | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| April 2020 | ~1,076 | Two months after launch |
| End of 2022 | ~40,000 | 40-fold growth in 2.5 years |
| September 30, 2024 | 89,505 | 24% YoY growth |
| April 18, 2025 | 99,464 | 978 registered providers |
| May 2025 | 100,000+ | Milestone announced by Rich Oborn |
| November 2025 | 106,422 | |
| January 2026 | 108,879 | |
| March 31, 2026 | 112,093 | 1,018 RMPs, 96 PMPs |
Roughly one in every 30 Utahns now holds a medical cannabis card.
The RMP / LMP / PMP Architecture
Utah’s provider structure has three distinct roles — a uniquely complex framework reflecting the pharmacy-frame Compromise:
- Recommending Medical Provider (RMP) — formerly “QMP.” A Utah-licensed MD, DO, APRN, PA, or DPM who has registered in the Electronic Verification System (EVS), holds a controlled-substance license, and has completed the program’s continuing-education curriculum. Cap: 1.5% of total active Utah patients, currently 1,681 patients per RMP.
- Limited Medical Provider (LMP) — same license classes who can recommend cannabis to up to 15 adult patients without registering with DHHS. Created by SB 170 (2021, Libertas-drafted). LMPs cannot recommend for minors or non-listed conditions.
- Pharmacy Medical Provider (PMP) — pharmacist or physician employed by a licensed pharmacy. Must be on-site during business hours, must consult on each transaction, may set or adjust dosing guidelines. The same person cannot be both an RMP and a PMP for the same patient.
What Patients Buy
Possession and purchase caps live in §26B-4-245. A cardholder may possess or purchase no more than:
- 113 grams (~4 oz) of unprocessed cannabis flower, AND
- 20 grams of total composite THC in all other (processed) products combined
Tracking is enforced on a rolling 28-day basis through the EVS/POS integration. Approved dosage forms are exhaustive: tablets, capsules, concentrated oil, tinctures, topicals, transdermal preparations, sublingual, gelatinous cubes/rectangular lozenges, blister-packed flower (≤1 gram per pod for vaporization only), wax/resin/concentrate (with provider documentation that two other forms failed), and aerosol. Brownies, gummies that look like fruit/animals, chocolates, cookies, and infused beverages are prohibited. See products & limits for full detail.
Costs and Access
Effective July 1, 2025, the state card fee dropped from $15 to $8. The transaction fee was halved from $3 to $1.50. Provider visit costs range $10–$500, averaging $190 initial, $129 renewal. SB 64 (2025) banned medical-card “pop-up clinics” within 500 feet of a pharmacy — this eliminated the cheapest path to a card and effectively raised typical patient evaluation cost to $100–$200. SB 121 (2026) created a $300,000-per-year patient-assistance voucher program. See costs & access.
The 15 Pharmacies
15 pharmacies are operational; HB 54 (2025) raised the cap to 17 with two new licenses reserved for medically underserved rural counties (Vernal and Moab were front-runners). Major operators: Beehive Farmacy, Bloc Pharmacy, Curaleaf (4 locations), Dragonfly Wellness (the first to open, March 2, 2020), The Flower Shop USA, The Forest, WholesomeCo (delivery leader serving all 23 listed counties), and Zion Medicinal. See pharmacies for full breakdown.
Sales Trajectory
- 2023: ~$143M total sales
- 2024: ~$157M
- 2025: $175–176M (+12% YoY)
- March 2026: $16.3M (single month); Q1 2026 cumulative ~$50M
Vape cartridges have overtaken flower as the leading category by revenue — January 2026: ~$7.6M vapes, ~$5.2M flower, ~$2.8M edibles, ~$112K topicals.
Explore the Medical Program
Official Sources
- Utah Center for Medical Cannabis
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
- Utah Code Title 26B, Chapter 4, Part 2
For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org