Approving medical cannabis at the state level opens the door to a lot of potential problems. A big concern for lawmakers is the money aspect. Whenever they open the door to a new and emerging market, they run the risk of some people making money on that market in undesirable ways. Thus, the restrictions some states have put on doctors.
Medical provider restrictions are the foundation for an interesting question: should doctors who recommend medical cannabis be barred from profiting from the cannabis trade itself? It goes without saying that doctors should be compensated for their medical services. They have the right to charge for every office visit, whether they are recommending cannabis or conducting a routine physical. But should they be able to make money from the production, processing, and distribution of the medical cannabis they recommend?
Many States Don’t Allow It
It turns out that many states prohibit doctors from doing just that. Such is the case in Utah, where Beehive Farmacy operates two medical dispensary locations, one in Salt Lake City and the other in Brigham City. Beehive Farmacy operators say that Utah’s medical cannabis statute specifically prohibits four things:
- Acting as a medical cannabis pharmacy agent
- Holding a significant financial or voting interest in a medical cannabis pharmacy
- Having direct power or indirect management control over a pharmacy
- Receiving any compensation or benefit from cannabis-related businesses
The businesses referenced in the fourth prohibition include growing operations, processing operations, and medical cannabis pharmacies. Doctors can receive no benefits or compensation from such companies, their officers, owners, board members, or employees.
Utah medical providers are also not allowed to receive compensation or benefits from other medical providers. That includes medical cannabis pharmacists.
The Lure of Profits
The restrictions Utah puts on doctors and other medical professionals makes good sense to me. When I step back and consider the lure of profits in an industry that is now worth tens of billions annually, barring doctors from profiting off the cannabis trade preserves the integrity of both the program and the doctors who are supposed to be looking out for patient wellbeing.
Imagine the possibilities if such restrictions were not in place. You could have a doctor recommending medical cannabis and then pointing a patient to a pharmacy he had a controlling interest in. That doctor would have every motivation to issue cards just so that he could steer business to his pharmacy.
Beehive Farmacy operators say that is one of the things lawmakers were worried about when they were first designing Utah’s medical cannabis law. Lawmakers were determined to do everything they could to prevent a large number of card mills from popping a wall across the state. So they built restrictions into the law as a proactive measure.
Keeping Programs Medically Based
Utah is a medical-only state. They have restricted medical provider business pursuits in order to keep their cannabis program medically based. But how do states with recreational marijuana programs address the issue? That is something I have yet to research. Perhaps it is a good topic for another post.
At any rate, medical cannabis is supposed to be about patient health and wellbeing. Allowing it to be corrupted by money would subsequently allow it to become like every other aspect of America’s for-profit healthcare system. Do we need that? No.
Though others may disagree, I believe it is good policy to keep doctors out of the cannabis trade. Let them provide medical services that include cannabis recommendations for qualified patients. But let the business world handle the rest of it.
