Utah moves to scrap state-run pot dispensary system

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah legislators were moving Thursday to scrap a planned state-run medical marijuana dispensary system after county attorneys said it would put public employees at risk of being prosecuted under federal drug laws.

Under the revised plan being written by Republican Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, medical cannabis would instead be distributed through as many as 12 private dispensaries.

The changes to Utah’s medical marijuana law would have to be approved in a special session.

Some cannabis advocates applauded the proposed change, saying it would increase patient access to pot. Others, however, worried that 12 dispensaries won’t be enough to meet demand when the program is rolled out next year for people with certain medical conditions who get a patient card from their medical provider.

The law now calls for seven private dispensaries with a state-run “central fill pharmacy” to distribute the remainder of medical marijuana orders through Utah’s 13 local health departments.

Some county attorneys argued that using health departments as pickup points could make the employees de facto drug dealers.

Marijuana is banned at the federal level, though a congressional amendment blocks the Justice Department from interfering with states’ medical marijuana programs. [Read More @ The Washington Post]