Iowa lawmakers weigh expanding medical cannabis program

DES MOINES — Whether the state should permit more medical marijuana dispensaries in Iowa, and whether THC-infused drinks should be added to the state’s open container law, are subjects of legislation being considered by state lawmakers. Iowa legislators this week advanced a proposal that would expand the state’s medical marijuana program by possibly doubling the number of authorized dispensaries in Iowa — from five to as many as 10. Each licenseholder would be allowed to operate up to three dispensaries in the state, although lawmakers said they may remove that cap from the bill.

The bill, Senate File 46, earned unanimous approval Thursday from a three-member Iowa Senate subcommittee. The proposal is now eligible for consideration by the full Senate Commerce Committee. Lawmakers in support of the bill said the state needs to expand access to medical cannabis for Iowans.



With the current cap on five licenses, some Iowa patients must travel for hours to purchase from a dispensary. Two companies operate the five current dispensaries in the state. Iowa Cannabis Company has dispensaries in Waterloo, Iowa City and Council Bluffs; Bud & Mary’s has dispensaries in Windsor Heights and Sioux City.

The Iowa Cannabis Company opposed the proposed addition of more licenses. David Adelman, a lobbyist, raised concerns about the ability of the medical cannabis program being able to support additional dispensaries. Adelman also told lawmakers the provision prohibiting a company from holding more than three licenses would impede their ability to compete.

“We believe, frankly, the program isn’t sustainable for added licenses,” Adelman said. “..

. If you're looking to expand or to create more efficiencies or more productivity with the program, we believe there's different ways, but we think that there are some significant flaws in this piece of legislation.” Logan Murray, a lobbyist representing Greenleaf Cannabis, said more dispensaries are needed in Iowa to improve access to medical cannabis.

“This program started in 2017, and since 2020 the medical cannabis oil board has made recommendations to look at the licensing and make some changes to it,” Murray said. “We see that these numbers have stagnated, and we think more opportunities with different dispensaries will allow more Iowans to gain access to this program.” Sen.

Scott Webster, a Republican from Bettendorf, recommended moving the bill forward with an amendment striking the language limiting a license holder to three dispensaries in Iowa. “I don’t think the dispensaries need to necessarily be restricted to only having three themselves so they have the availability to compete in that same marketplace,” Webster said. He added that medical cannabis is heavily regulated and has proved benefits for various medical conditions.

“So I continue to be a supporter of it,” Webster said. Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights and leader of House Democrats, said she wants to examine any proposals to expand the number of dispensary licenses to make sure any legislation would have no “unintended consequences.

” Konfrst told reporters Thursday she is in favor of expanding access to Iowans who wish to use the program, but also wants to ensure existing businesses are not injured by any legislation. Dane Schumann, a lobbyist for MedPharm Iowa — whose dispensaries and cultivation facilities have been renamed as Bud & Mary's — expressed a need for broader reforms to the state program. Iowans who rely on medical cannabis to treat various medical conditions for years have pushed lawmakers to expand the program and lift limitations on the potency and type of medical cannabis products that eligible patients can obtain to make it more effective.

“We’re not opposed to the concept of there being more dispensary locations in the state,” Schumann told lawmakers. “..

. But without fixing broader, deeper reforms to the medical cannabis program, we’re not convinced that a lot of these new dispensaries, at least, would be able to survive in the environment that we have in the state.” Iowans often travel to surrounding Midwestern states that have expanded medical marijuana programs and legalized recreational use of marijuana.

House File 105, introduced by Rep. Hans Wilz, a Republican from Ottumwa, would add vaporized flower to the list of legal forms of medical cannabis available in Iowa. The current program is limited to synthetic forms that must be processed down to an oil, which can be an expensive undertaking.

Allowing vaporized flower would provide a less expensive alternative for patients with legitimate medical needs who have been prescribed cannabis, Wilz said. The broader goal of the bill, he said, is to start a conversation and ensure the medical cannabis program is robust and serving the needs of Iowans, particularly those with cancer and other serious conditions. Wilz’s bill is scheduled for a subcommittee hearing Monday morning.

Drinks infused with THC would be added to the state law that prohibits open containers of alcoholic beverages in vehicles under legislation advancing in the Iowa House. House Study Bill 29, was proposed by the Iowa Department of Public Safety. No opposition to the bill was expressed during a subcommittee hearing Wednesday, and all three members of the legislative panel supported advancing it to the full Iowa House Public Safety Committee.

“They’re an impairing drink so it makes sense that it would just be added to the open container law,” Rep. Zach Dieken, R-Granville, said after the hearing. “(Individuals) just can’t drink and drive.

” Legalizing marijuana has had a major impact in tobacco consumption. Despite what many experts thought, a new study published in the Journal of Health Economics concluded that state-level cannabis reforms are mostly associated with “small, occasionally significant longer-run declines in adult tobacco use.” Veuer’s Maria Mercedes Galuppo has the story.

Seizures are sudden and uncontrolled electrical bursts within the brain, which notably cause falls, uncontrolled flailing and stiffening, loss of consciousness, difficulty breathing, staring or rapid blinking, and lack of control of other bodily functions. CBD, in particular, has shown promise to help control seizures , reducing their frequency and severity. CBD is beneficial for conditions that are resistant to other treatments.

In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved a CBD medication to treat seizures associated with a severe form of epilepsy. Psoriasis and eczema are similar skin conditions, both causing itchy, inflamed, and painful dry patches on the person's skin that can crack and bleed. Cannabis can help target the underlying inflammation and symptoms of these incurable conditions.

Recent research shows that cannabis can calm inflammation and may even slow the overactive skin cell growth that causes dry patches. Cannabis and CBD products can also relieve pain, reduce itching, heal wounds, and manage stress (which often worsens these conditions). Crohn's is characterized by digestive tract inflammation, which causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, reduced appetite, and weight loss.

As an anti-inflammatory, cannabis can reduce these symptoms. Some Crohn's patients report that cannabis has improved their quality of life by helping them manage pain, boost their appetites, and promote better sleep. Post-traumatic stress disorder can plague anyone who experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, including combat veterans, victims of abuse, and survivors of sexual assault.

Those with PTSD may experience severe anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts concerning the trauma, and physical reactions to triggers. A 2021 study in AIMS Neuroscience found that cannabis reduces symptoms of PTSD and improves patients' quality of life; the drug decreased nightmares , improved sleep, and alleviated their perpetual fight-or-flight response. Researchers have identified marijuana as a therapeutic tool to treat symptoms of many other illnesses not covered here, such as endometriosis, and other forms of chronic pain and mental illnesses.

Consult with medical professionals, conduct research, and tread carefully when deciding whether using cannabis to treat a medical condition is right for you. Story editing by Alizah Salario. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.

Hope is on the horizon for people who want to use marijuana to treat medical conditions. Cannabis is currently illegal under federal law as a Schedule I drug. But in January, federal researchers recommended moving it to a Schedule III drug, which includes drugs like ketamine and testosterone that are available by prescription.

Americans most closely associate medical marijuana with treating severe symptoms of cancer and AIDS. Indeed, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a handful of cannabis-derived drugs to treat these and a few other specific diseases. However, people living with many different medical conditions could potentially benefit from the reclassification and broader legal acceptance of cannabis.

Stacker identified eight medical conditions where cannabis may be beneficial, either by lessening symptoms or treating the underlying medical problem. Despite federal policy, the drug is already legal for medical use in 38 states, including Washington D.C.

, and is legal for recreational use in 25 states. Additionally, the medicinal use of cannabidiol, or CBD, often formulated as oil—which is made from cannabis plants but has low levels of their primary psychoactive element, THC—is allowed in six more states. Regulations vary widely between states—some are very restrictive, while in others, new laws have yet to be implemented, meaning cannabis is effectively illegal.

As legal recreational marijuana use has increased and stigma has decreased, the plant-derived drug has emerged as a potential treatment option for myriad conditions. Cannabis takes many different forms, which in turn can affect each person differently. Common reactions to marijuana include a sense of relaxation and euphoria, and increased appetite.

For the uninitiated, not all marijuana is created equal; various potencies and terpene makeups (the chemical compounds in cannabis that cause different effects like relaxation or heightened awareness) have a profound effect on the experience. Anyone hoping to test cannabis to treat a medical condition should become familiar with their state's laws first and speak with a doctor about treating the condition through more conventional methods. Under current federal law, doctors can't prescribe marijuana, but instead can provide referrals for its use to those with qualifying conditions.

Even in states where cannabis is legal, obtaining a referral or license for medical marijuana can be challenging and may be impossible for many of the lesser-researched medical conditions. What's more, federal restrictions have limited research into using cannabis to treat various conditions. However, there are options for adults 21 and over in states where recreational marijuana use is legal, who can visit a verified dispensary to test the benefits of marijuana for their medical conditions.

Research and cautious trial-and-error with cannabis products, including edibles, topicals, joints, and oils, can help those seeking relief find the proper dosage and method to manage symptoms. Cannabis can have adverse effects that prospective users should be aware of: The drug can cause difficulty thinking and slow reaction times, impair memory, and, in high doses, can cause hallucinations and delusions. It also elevates users' heart rate, and when smoked, marijuana irritates users' lungs and can cause breathing problems.

Use of cannabis while pregnant can negatively affect the fetus' development. Though there's evidence that cannabis has been used for millennia to treat various ailments , modern research is only just beginning to provide scientific proof of its medicinal value. Although a more holistic understanding of its medical impact is still emerging, cannabis has proven beneficial for a variety of physical and mental health issues that have inflammation, anxiety, or stress as an underlying cause or major symptom.

Either anecdotally or through case studies and scientific research, people with these conditions have reported some therapeutic benefits of cannabis. Eating disorders, especially anorexia, can cause dangerously low levels of body fat, which impede many mental and physical functions. Studies on using cannabis as a treatment for eating disorders are limited, but some have shown that cannabis helped those with anorexia regain healthy weight and eased other symptoms of the disorder, such as stress.

Keep in mind that eating disorders and substance use disorders often occur in tandem , so those using marijuana for treatment should be cautious about using the drug. Arthritis is another inflammatory disease that primarily attacks joints in the hands, hips, and knees. Marijuana can relieve the inflammation and pain associated with arthritis.

People who have tested CBD to treat their arthritis have also reported improved sleep and reduced anxiety . Some studies have shown cannabis could even slow or stop the progression of the disease, but more research must occur to confirm those early theories. Several medical conditions are primarily associated with muscle spasticity, or abnormal muscle tightness that prevents normal movement and causes involuntary muscle spasms and pain.

These include multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy. The THC in marijuana can relax muscles and temper spasms. Cannabis can also relieve pain, reduce muscle and nerve inflammation, and improve sleep.

Alzheimer's—and dementia more broadly—affects millions of Americans each year, deteriorating parts of their brains associated with memory, reasoning, and other mental functions. Research is limited on the use of marijuana to treat these diseases. Some studies have shown that high concentrations of CBD oil can relieve agitation and anxiety among Alzheimer's patients, significant behavioral symptoms associated with the disease.

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