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Show NV $ 530 Million in General Sales (2017-2018) UT 7 Pharmacies 4 Types of Medical Cards CO $ 1.5 Million in General Sales (2018) Monika Clarke | The Signpost must be delivered two days after placed. According to the Utah Department of Health, medical cannabis will be available as tablets, capsules, concentrated oils and other edible products. Smoking marijuana is not legal under the Medical Cannabis Act. Patients can instead use vapor pens to take the cannabis into the respiratory system. There are currently four specified cards that will be available by March 2020: patient, guardian, provisional patient and caregiver cards. Patient cards are required in every case. The other three cards will be issued in conjunction with the patient card under the pretense that the patient is a minor or is unable to attain or consume the medicinal cannabis on their own. Fees for the cards have not yet been established but will be required upon card renewal, which is required after the first 30 days of issuing and six months following initial 30-day renewal. At this point, it is unclear how the state of Utah will benefit fiscally from the legalization of medical marijuana. Two of the states that share borders with Utah and have legalized marijuana, Nevada and Colorado, have benefited financially from the marijuana industry. According to the State of Nevada Department of Taxation, Nevada’s taxable sales from dispensaries from July 2017 to June 2018 was near $530 million. Tax revenues for the fiscal year 2017-2018 were at $48.97 million. The Colorado State Retail Sales Tax Return reported that sales of marijuana in Colorado reached over $1.5 billion in 2018. Tax revenues for 2018 in Colorado were approximately $266.5 million. “The popularity of treating illnesses and conditions with medical marijuana is only going to grow, and demands are going to get higher,” Sanders said. Utah has faced its own legal struggles with medicinal marijuana. The system that will be used for the treatment is not yet in place, so information on how this will benefit the people of Utah is not yet available to compare. “We, as a state, have only overcome one obstacle. We still have more conditions to think about that should be eligible for medical weed,” Wilkerson said. “We have only scratched the surface here in Utah, and I am looking forward to digging deeper.” Comment on this story at signpost.mywebermedia.com Connect with upcoming events, other students, campus resources and more! Download the App and scan the QR code using the app to win t-shirts, swag bags and more! *Check your email for instructions on where to pick up your prize. SCAN TO CHECK IN THE DETAILS Signpost Ad 02/14/2019 |