Medical cannabis users in Utah used to be able to stay abreast of program news and announcements by visiting the Utah Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) website and downloading a newsletter in PDF format. Things have since changed. Users must now sign up to receive newsletters via email.
I assume the change has been instituted for efficiency’s sake. However, not everyone will find the system more efficient. Count me among them. I am neither a medical cannabis user nor a Utah resident. But I need to keep up with the state program to write articles like this one.
On the one hand, receiving the medical cannabis newsletters via email eliminates the need for me to retrieve them manually. I no longer need to open my browser, navigate to the website, find the right page, and download. I just click the link in the email. Easy peasy.
On the other hand, the Utah DHHS website states that, by signing up for the newsletter, I will also be getting other program announcements from them. The quarterly newsletter represents yet another email in my inbox. But will Utah HHS be sending me other emails as well?
It is no big deal, really. It is just that I already get more email than I know what to do with. I spent so much time wading through messages that are largely meaningless just to get to the ones containing important information. I would not complain if I got fewer emails in my inbox.
If I were a Utah medical cannabis patient, I would be more interested in receiving quarterly updates via my email. The state’s newsletters are a valuable source of information for patients and providers alike. By the way, Utah now offers two separate newsletters – one for each group. Patients no longer need to wade through information intended for providers and vice-versa.
What kind of information shows up in the newsletters? Information pertaining to any changes to the medical cannabis program. This includes program modifications, enhancements, new rules, etc.
As an example, state law used to allow for only 14 medical cannabis pharmacies throughout the state. When lawmakers approved a fifteenth pharmacy, the news was reported in the newsletter. Likewise when the 15th license was eventually awarded to Zion Medicinal in Cedar City.
The newsletter also reported a modification to the number of patients a Qualified Medical Provider (QMP) could recommend medical cannabis to. It used to be just 600. Now, QMP patient loads can be as high as 1.5% of the total number of medical cannabis card holders in the state.
If you are a medical cannabis user in the state of Utah, do not let my ambivalence about email newsletters dissuade you from signing up. Newsletter information is quite helpful most of the time. The best part is that you don’t have to go searching for it once you’re signed up. Everything is sent to your email on a regular basis.
To sign up, visit the Utah DHHS Center for Medical Cannabis website and navigate to ‘resources> program news’. A new page will open on which you will find a link to sign up for the newsletter. Enter your email address and you are good to go.
Sending out newsletters via email is just the latest change to Utah’s medical cannabis program. The program has certainly come a long way since voters approved medical cannabis so many years ago. I can confidently say that most of the changes have been good for patients.
