How to Obtain a Medical Cannabis Card in Utah

Getting a Medical Cannabis card in Utah can feel like a bureaucratic ordeal, and there are certainly a few hoops to jump through! With that said, being a patient brings a host of benefits, including legal protection, access to in-state medical grade cannabis in a range of products, and a trained community of medical and healthcare professionals to help with treatment plans, education, and support. 

Here at Boojum, we think these benefits are important and should be widely available, so let us help you on your journey with this detailed roadmap to becoming a medical patient. 

Qualify For A Medical Card

First and foremost, do you qualify for a medical card in Utah?

To qualify, you must:

1. Be a Utah Resident over the age of 21.

If this doesn’t apply to you, you have options, albeit more complicated ones. If you are under 21, you can petition the Compassionate Use Board to become a patient (instructions to do so can be found here). If you are not a resident of Utah, but have a cannabis card from another state, you may apply for a temporary card while visiting (check out Utah Medical Cannabis Cards for Non-Utah Residents for help doing so).

2. Have a Qualifying Condition. 

These include the following:

  • Persistent pain or acute pain
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
  • Cancer
  • Cachexia
  • Nausea not related to pregnancy or cannabis consumption
  • Crohn’s Disease or ulcerative colitis
  • Epilepsy or debilitating seizures
  • Multiple Sclerosis or debilitating muscle spasms
  • PTSD
  • Autism
  • HIV
  • Terminal Illness
  • A condition resulting in hospice
  • A rare condition affecting less than 200,000 people

The vast majority of Utah patients (over 60,000) are in the program for persistent pain, while PTSD comes in at a distant second with a little over 8,000 patients. Medical providers who can provide a prescription will help walk you through the options and help ensure you meet the qualifications before submitting an application.

Create a Utah ID

In order to become a patient, you’ll need to sign up for a Utah ID.  To do so, make sure that you have the following on hand:

  • Birth Date
  • Social Security Number
  • Valid Government Issued ID
  • Email address

Now head over to the state’s Electronic Verification System (). UtahID and the EVS are synced, so if you’ve used UtahID for anything in the past, you may already have an account. Either sign in or create a new account.

If you find yourself on a UtahID page after signing in, you should navigate back to EVS, where you will already be signed in if you’ve already signed in or created a login. Once there:

  • Click Patient Registration 
  • Enter your information (EXACTLY as it appears on your government ID)

From here, click on “Tracking Inbox.”

If you do not see “Patient” listed underneath, you may have had an existing account, and need to “change roles” in order to register as a patient. To do so, click on that option, in the upper right hand corner of the page. This should give you an option to add a new patient registration.

  • Again, enter all information as it appears on your government ID.
  • Click Save & Submit for Certification at the bottom of the page.

Your Progress Bar should now read “Awaiting Certification”, at which point, the registration is ready for your doctor or QMP (qualified medical provider)  to fill it out on their end. 

Note: if you are having issues navigating this step on your own, the medical providers listed in the link in the next step will understand how the EVS works, and can help you register during your consultation.

Getting a prescription

Perhaps the most confusing part of getting your card is finding a medical professional (called a QMP, or qualified medical provider) who will prescribe cannabis, and who will ideally help you to navigate both the medical and legal landscape of using medical cannabis in Utah. 

There are two ways to go about finding a QMP. You can contact your regular doctor and ask whether they will prescribe cannabis. We recommend going this route, because your doctor will be the best prepared to help you figure out how to safely integrate cannabis into your personal healthcare toolbox. If they are willing to prescribe cannabis, but don’t have experience doing so, this qualified medical provider tutorial helps explain the process on their end.

If you do not have a regular doctor, or your healthcare provider is not comfortable prescribing cannabis (the stigma is real!) , you can easily find a QMP who will work with you to get a cannabis card. Finding the right QMP used to be quite a challenge, seeing as prices for a visit range from $10 to $500, and some accept insurance while some don’t, but lucky for potential patients, the Department of Health and Human Services recently put together a page listing every provider in the state, how much they charge, and whether or not the accept insurance. Check it out here to find a QMP that fits your budget and location.

Pay the State Fee

In addition to any doctor or clinic fees that you may have to pay to get a prescription, there is also a state fee of $15 leveraged for both new and renewed cards. After your doctor or QMP finishes entering your prescription into the EVS, it will say “Awaiting payment”. Navigate to the page that says payment, and click “New payment”, at which point you’ll be directed to enter your card information. Once that goes through, your application is submitted, and the state will email you the card to print once the application has been approved.

One more hoop 

Once you have your card in hand, you’re almost there! Before you’re able to actually purchase medical cannabis for the first time though, you must have a consultation with a pharmacist. These are generally quick and easy. Every medical pharmacy in Utah will have a pharmacist on hand at all times. 

It’s best to set up an appointment in advance, so that you don’t have to wait in line. Otherwise, you might be waiting awhile to speak to somebody, especially at the busier pharmacies. Pharmacists can help you figure out the best treatment for you, provide you with valuable education plus resources about cannabis medicine, and what products their pharmacies have available.  

And the good news? Once you’ve finished your consultation with a pharmacist, you are free to purchase products at any pharmacy, and there are no more hoops to jump through! At least until it’s time to renew…. But hey, at least renewals have been extended from 6 months to a year!