1     
QUALIFYING CONDITIONS FOR MEDICAL CANNABIS

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2021 GENERAL SESSION

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STATE OF UTAH

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Chief Sponsor: Gay Lynn Bennion

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Senate Sponsor: ____________

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7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     amends the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis; and
13          ▸     makes technical changes.
14     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
15          None
16     Other Special Clauses:
17          None
18     Utah Code Sections Affected:
19     AMENDS:
20          26-61a-104, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 12
21     

22     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
23          Section 1. Section 26-61a-104 is amended to read:
24          26-61a-104. Qualifying condition.
25          (1) By designating a particular condition under Subsection (2) for which the use of
26     medical cannabis to treat symptoms is decriminalized, the Legislature does not conclusively
27     state that:

28          (a) current scientific evidence clearly supports the efficacy of a medical cannabis
29     treatment for the condition; or
30          (b) a medical cannabis treatment will treat, cure, or positively affect the condition.
31          (2) For the purposes of this chapter, each of the following conditions is a qualifying
32     condition:
33          (a) HIV or acquired immune deficiency syndrome;
34          (b) Alzheimer's disease;
35          (c) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;
36          (d) cancer;
37          (e) cachexia;
38          (f) persistent nausea that is not significantly responsive to traditional treatment, except
39     for nausea related to:
40          (i) pregnancy;
41          (ii) cannabis-induced cyclical vomiting syndrome; or
42          (iii) cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome;
43          (g) Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis;
44          (h) epilepsy or debilitating seizures;
45          (i) multiple sclerosis or persistent and debilitating muscle spasms;
46          (j) post-traumatic stress disorder that is being treated and monitored by a licensed
47     mental health therapist, as that term is defined in Section 58-60-102, and that:
48          (i) has been diagnosed by a healthcare provider or mental health provider employed or
49     contracted by the United States Veterans Administration, evidenced by copies of medical
50     records from the United States Veterans Administration that are included as part of the
51     qualified medical provider's pre-treatment assessment and medical record documentation; or
52          (ii) has been diagnosed or confirmed, through face-to-face or telehealth evaluation of
53     the patient, by a provider who is:
54          (A) a licensed board-eligible or board-certified psychiatrist;
55          (B) a licensed psychologist with a master's-level degree;
56          (C) a licensed clinical social worker with a master's-level degree; or
57          (D) a licensed advanced practice registered nurse who is qualified to practice within
58     the psychiatric mental health nursing speciality and who has completed the clinical practice

59     requirements in psychiatric mental health nursing, including in psychotherapy, in accordance
60     with Subsection 58-31b-302(4)(g);
61          (k) autism;
62          (l) a terminal illness when the patient's remaining life expectancy is less than six
63     months;
64          (m) a condition resulting in the individual receiving hospice care;
65          (n) a rare condition or disease that:
66          (i) affects less than 200,000 individuals in the United States, as defined in Section 526
67     of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and
68          (ii) is not adequately managed despite treatment attempts using:
69          (A) conventional medications other than opioids or opiates; or
70          (B) physical interventions;
71          (o) pain lasting longer than two weeks that is not adequately managed, in the qualified
72     medical provider's opinion, despite treatment attempts using:
73          (i) conventional medications other than opioids or opiates; or
74          (ii) physical interventions; [and]
75          (p) opioid use disorder, as that term is defined in the current edition of the Diagnostic
76     and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric
77     Association, to treat a patient:
78          (i) in an acute pain setting as an alternative to opioids or opiates; or
79          (ii) in a pain clinic, as that term is defined in Section 58-1-102, pain contract, or other
80     opioid or opiate maintenance program; and
81          [(p)] (q) a condition that the Compassionate Use Board approves under Section
82     26-61a-105, on an individual, case-by-case basis.