Utah Marijuana Laws
Utah marijuana laws allow medical cannabis for cardholders with a qualifying condition, and recreational use is still illegal. This guide covers how those laws developed since 2014 and today’s rules on possession, purchase, home cultivation, visitors and who qualifies.
Is Marijuana Legal in Utah?
Only for medical use: recreational marijuana is illegal in Utah, and only cardholders may buy medical cannabis, from licensed Utah medical cannabis pharmacies. Cardholders may buy no more than the legal dosage limit in each 28-day period, based on the dosing guidelines from their provider or the pharmacy’s medical provider, under the Utah Medical Cannabis Act.
Is Medical Marijuana Legal?
Yes, Utah medical marijuana laws allow for patients with qualifying conditions to purchase and use medical marijuana from official, qualified medical cannabis pharmacies. This has been the case since 2018 when the Utah Legislature passed the Utah Medical Cannabis Act.
If you’re considering medical marijuana for a health condition, look for a recommending medical provider on the state’s find-a-provider list, which includes only providers who chose to be listed. A Utah recommending provider decides whether you have a qualifying condition, enters your recommendation in the state’s EVS, and either sets your dosing guidelines or leaves them to the pharmacy. You then meet the pharmacy’s medical provider, often a pharmacist, at the pharmacy or by video or phone if it offers that, before your first purchase.
Is Recreational Marijuana Legal?
Even though Utah allows patients with conditions like a terminal illness or debilitating seizures to use medical marijuana under the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, recreational use is still illegal. Possession, sale, and cultivation of recreational marijuana can all be punished by the law in the state of Utah.
The History of Marijuana Laws in Utah
How have cannabis laws in Utah changed over the years? Utah has changed its cannabis laws one bill at a time, moving from a total ban to the state-regulated medical program it has today.
Cannabis in all forms remained outlawed in Utah until 2014, when the governor signed HB 105, the Plant Extract Amendments, which let people with intractable epilepsy, on a neurologist’s signed statement, possess and use hemp extract, a CBD oil with less than 0.3% THC and at least 15% CBD by weight. Then, in 2015, efforts for more thorough medical cannabis legalization began. Senate Bill 259 was introduced to allow patients with chronic conditions to use medical cannabis, but it was narrowly defeated in a Senate vote.
In 2016, the push for medical cannabis in Utah continued, with Senator Mark B. Madsen leading the charge. He introduced Senate Bill 73 to allow for medicinal cannabis use in patients with HIV, AIDS, and other conditions. The bill passed the Senate but failed to pass the House Health and Human Services Committee. In March 2016, Senator Brian Shiozawa’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 11 was signed, urging the federal government to reschedule marijuana.
Finally, in 2018, HB 195 allowed terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis, and the Utah Medical Cannabis Act (HB 3001) passed on December 3, 2018. As of October 2026 the state lists 15 licensed pharmacy locations.
Utah Marijuana Laws on Possession, Purchase and Use
Below are Utah’s rules on possession, purchase, home cultivation, visitors, use, transport and driving.
Possession & Purchase
Possession and purchase of marijuana in Utah are allowed for holders of a Utah medical marijuana card within their legal dosage limit. People without a card are not allowed to buy or use marijuana, and a cardholder who carries more than twice the legal dosage limit is subject to criminal penalties under Utah law.
How Much Can I Buy and Possess?
According to Utah’s medical marijuana laws, qualifying patients are only able to buy and possess an amount that is sufficient for up to 30 days of treatment, relevant to the appropriate dosage guidelines for their condition. This should equate to no more than 113 grams of unprocessed cannabis flower, or 20 grams of THC in other forms, per 28-day period.
Where Can I Obtain Cannabis?
In Utah, medical cannabis can be bought only from a licensed medical cannabis pharmacy.
Who Can Legally Purchase Cannabis in Utah?
Only holders of a medical marijuana card may legally buy and use cannabis in Utah.
Home Cultivation
Home cultivation is illegal in Utah.
Reciprocity
Visitors need a 21-day non-Utah resident card to buy medical cannabis in Utah. With another state’s card and a Utah qualifying condition they may possess it, as may new residents for their first 45 days or less.
Consumption
According to Utah marijuana laws, you may use medical cannabis only with a card for a qualifying condition listed in Utah Code 26B-4-203 or approved by the state after a Compassionate Use Board recommendation, as explained by the Center for Medical Cannabis.
Where Can I Safely Consume Cannabis?
Medical cannabis may not be used in public view in Utah except in a medical emergency, and it may be vaped but never smoked.
Qualifying Patients
Medical marijuana in Utah is only available for people with specific medical conditions, including the following:
- HIV or AIDS
- Alzheimer’s
- Cancer
- Persistent nausea
- Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
- Epilepsy
- MS
- PTSD, treated by a licensed mental health therapist and diagnosed by a qualified provider
- Autism
- Cachexia
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Terminal illness or hospice care
- Rare conditions not adequately managed by treatment
- Pain lasting over two weeks that non-opioid treatment has not managed
Transportation
Cardholders may transport medical cannabis within their limit (no more than 113 g of flower) in its labeled container, inside an opaque bag or box in public.
Driving
It is illegal to drive any vehicle while under the influence of cannabis products.
Expungement
It may be possible to expunge prior convictions of possession of marijuana in Utah, but this will vary from case to case.
How to Obtain a Medical Card?
Getting a Utah medical marijuana card means an EVS application, a first visit with a recommending provider (in person, with narrow exceptions), and the state card fee.
Summary
Utah allowed hemp extract (CBD oil) for intractable epilepsy in 2014 and medical cannabis in 2018, and medical cannabis is now sold at 15 licensed pharmacy locations, with home delivery listed by several pharmacies. Recreational marijuana remains illegal in Utah.
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