Marijuana Moment: Iowa Bill To Double The Number Of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Heads To Governor’s Desk

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Iowa lawmakers have sent the governor legislation that would double the number of medical cannabis dispensaries that are allowed to operate in the state.

Under current law, Iowa’s limited medical marijuana program allows only five dispensaries. That would double to 10 under HF 990, which was approved by the House of Representatives in an 88-5 vote last month and previously cleared the Senate in a tally of 42-5.

The bill is now before Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who can sign or veto it, or allow it to become law without her signature.

Bridget Spiddle, public policy and communications coordinator for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), wrote in an action alert to supporters that the reform “would be a vital step in expanding medical cannabis access for one of the most restrictive medical cannabis programs in the country.”

“No other medication gets treated like cannabis does. Pharmacies are widely accessible throughout Iowa, while dispensaries are capped at five locations for thousands of patients,” she said. “Rural Iowans have to expend enormous amounts of time and resources on costly travel to receive their medicine.”

In addition to doubling the dispensary allowance, the proposal before the governor would also allow out-of-state residents to register in the medical cannabis program if they have a certification from an Iowa healthcare provider.

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The Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board, which oversees the state’s medical marijuana program, recommended in a 2023 report that the state allow more licenses “in an effort to provide Iowans with greater geographical access to medical cannabis products.”

Under the program, patients with certain conditions can obtain cannabis products containing no more than at 4.5 grams of THC every 90 days. Flower and smoking are not allowed. Healthcare practitioners can allow greater amounts of THC for patients who are terminally ill or who have experience with the program and for whom the provider believes 4.5 grams is not enough.

Separately this session, Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill to create a state-regulated therapeutic psilocybin program for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Last year, the governor vetoed separate legislation that would have allowed doctors in the state to immediately prescribe a synthetic form of psilocybin in the event of federal approval of the psychedelic substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), arguing that it “surrenders state authority to make an informed determination about classification to federal officials.”

Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney.

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