SALT LAKE CITY — The number of medical marijuana cardholders in Utah is rising to new heights.

It’s only been five years since Utah rolled out its medical cannabis program. Now, the state is on track to have 100,000 active medical card holders by the end of this month.

“There’s been an 18 percent increase from this same time last year,” said Richard Oborn, director of Utah’s Center for Medical Cannabis.

99,464 Utah patients are active medical cannabis cardholders as of April 18 according to Oborn.

There are several reasons why the number of active cardholders is growing in Utah. One of the main reasons being an increased awareness among medical providers.

“We know that over time, more people have joined the program as there has been more medical providers providing recommendations to them,” he said. “There are 978 medical providers registered throughout the state to recommend medical cannabis to patients.”

Oborn said in order to be qualified for a card an individual would need to meet with someone with a controlled substance license to get a recommendation. 

More information about medical marijuana and providers who can recommend the treatment can be found here.

Who are Utah’s medical cannabis cardholders? 

There were nearly 4,000 new cardholders in March. But who makes up these cardholders? 

March data from the State Department of Health and Human Services shows over one-fourth of all patients are between 31 and 40 years old. With the large majority of those cardholders, about 85 percent, using medical marijuana for persistent pain. That’s over 83,000 people. 

The next highest condition people use cannabis for is PTSD at 6,555 individuals. 

Most patients are in Salt Lake county, at nearly 40,000. 

And vape cartridges and pens accounted for the most sales last month.

The future of Utah’s medical marijuana

This coming July some changes will allow for cards to be more accessible. Namely the price. 

The card fee for medical cannabis patients will be changing from $15 to $8.  And the transaction fee will also drop from $3 to $1.50. 

Related: New bill seeks to make medical marijuana more accessible and affordable for Utahns

“So, not only is getting the card becoming affordable but also purchasing the product itself is becoming a little bit more affordable as the transaction fee is being reduced,” said Oborn. 

But before the price change, in May a new law will go into effect. This law will require the pharmacies that sell the medical cannabis to include a patient product insert. This insert will contain general information about the cannabis, such as dosage, side effects and other warnings. 

“That’s just a small change we feel will help patients and better educate them about the products that they buy,” said Oborn. 

Where does the money from sales go? 

With the increase of cardholders the sales have gone up. In 2024, the program had $150 million in medical cannabis sales. A 14 percent increase from 2023 according to Oborn. 

“Just comparing the first three months of this year to the first three months of 2024 there’s been about a 12 percent state wide increase in net sales, ” said Oborn. 

The money from the sales goes to the pharmacies doing the selling, but a portion of the revenue also goes to the states medical cannabis program. The program then uses that money to pay its employees, support research, and to up keep the software used to allow people to apply for a card online.

Diana Jones also contributed to this article. 

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