By Bethany Rodgers | The Salt Lake Tribune
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 businesses.
A 122-page 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, also increases the number of private dispensaries and makes several other emergency fixes so the state’s cannabis program can ramp up on time — with marijuana treatments scheduled to hit the market in Utah by March 2020.
The bill’s sponsors said course corrections are to be expected as the state enters the unfamiliar territory of medical cannabis
