Utah lawmakers gave the green light to medical cannabis home delivery more than a year ago. Things have been slow to get started, but home delivery in the Beehive State is picking up. Meanwhile, New York is being celebrated for approving home delivery of recreational cannabis.
It is worth debating whether recreational cannabis should be delivered as easily as groceries and take out. Not so for medical cannabis. Given all the reasons for pushing medical cannabis to begin with, home delivery should be automatic in any state choosing to cross that bridge.
Delivery Improves Access
Consider that the entire argument in favor of medical cannabis is giving patients another option for managing their health. It is not about just getting high for the sake of doing so. It’s about utilizing medicine to treat PTSD, chronic pain, cancer pain, etc.
With that foundation laid, patients with valid medical cannabis cards have a right to easy access. Just as with any other prescription medication, they should not have to jump through hoops to get their legal medical cannabis.
Home delivery improves access. It eliminates a lot of hoop-jumping. It is especially important in rural states like Utah where, according to Brigham City’s Beehive Farmacy, some patients can live an hour or more away from the nearest pharmacy.
Some Patients Can’t Travel
Even if the nearest medical cannabis pharmacy is relatively close by, some patients cannot travel anyway. They are too medically fragile to get in a car and drive even 20 minutes across town. Cancer patients immediately come to mind.
Cancer patients who use medical cannabis almost always do so to control their pain and nausea. In the aftermath of radiation or chemotherapy, a patient may be in no condition to visit the local cannabis pharmacy. They should be able to expect home delivery.
Lawmaker Concerns Can Be Addressed
It goes without saying that cannabis delivery has its critics within the ranks of state lawmakers. They have valid concerns, including the possibility that allowing home delivery could lead to more crimes being perpetrated against cannabis businesses. But every concern can be addressed.
In Utah, delivery companies must equip their delivery vehicles with GPS, security systems, and a means of securing cash payments. Vehicles must also be unmarked. That way, providers are not advertising what’s on board.
Utah law also requires that deliveries only be made to registered cannabis card holders at their registered residential addresses. Delivery personnel cannot deliver packages to workplaces, retail outlets, public parks, etc. They must deliver to patient residences. Furthermore, patients must be there to accept delivery. They must provide identification as well.
It’s Supposed to Be About Compassion
Approving medical cannabis is supposed to be about compassion, right? So if it really is, home delivery should be automatic. It is the compassionate thing to do for patients who need access to their medicines but may not be able to make the trip to a local pharmacy. Right is right.
Offering home delivery increases access for patients. It eliminates the need to travel among patients who are medically fragile. Finally, it makes purchasing and obtaining medical cannabis more convenient. It doesn’t hurt the bottom line when a pharmacy realizes increased sales as a result of offering delivery.
Utah’s medical cannabis delivery remains a work in progress. Other states with delivery programs in place are seeing mixed results. Collectively, we should observe how delivery goes in every state that allows it. Once enough data is available, cannabis industry representatives can put their heads together and come up with a model that works for everyone.
