Utah Medical Cannabis Pharmacy Licensing and Zoning

Under Utah's Medical Cannabis Act (Utah Code Title 26B, Chapter 4, recodified from Title 26, Chapter 61a), the Department of Health and Human Services, through its Center for Medical Cannabis, licenses a capped number of Medical Cannabis Pharmacies — 15 statewide — geographically distributed across Utah. State law sets minimum siting buffers and operating standards (security, inventory tracking, age limits, hours). Municipalities and counties may not adopt ordinances that conflict with the state license framework or create a de facto prohibition defeating the statutory distribution. Local governments may still apply neutral zoning, reasonable buffers, and conditional-use review.

Operating a cannabis pharmacy without a state license is a felony; local ordinances that conflict with state licensing limits or the geographic-distribution mandate may be preempted and unenforceable.