Iowa
4,770
Registered Patient Population 0.15% of Total Population Represented by Patients |
0
Total Medical Retail Locations Currently in Operation |
N/A
Ratio of Patients to Retail Location |
There is limited medical cannabis availability in Iowa. The program limits patients to cannabidiol preparations with 0.3 percent or less THC, in compliance with USDA hemp standards. The state has authorized the production of CBD from in-state industrial hemp cultivators and distribution by dispensaries.
 Patient Rights and Civil Protection |
55/100 |
|
| Arrest Protection |
20/40 |
| Affirmative Defense |
12/15 |
| Parental Rights Protections |
8/10 |
| DUI Protections |
0/5 |
| Employment Protections |
0/5 |
| Explicit Privacy Standards |
7/7 |
| Housing Protections |
0/5 |
| Does Not Create New Criminal Penalties for Patients |
5/5 |
| Organ Transplants |
0/5 |
| Reciprocity |
3/3 |
|
|
Access to Medicine |
24/100 |
|
| Allows Distribution Programs |
8/40 |
| – Allows Access to Dried Flowers |
0/15 |
| – Allows Delivery |
3/5 |
| – No Sales Tax or Reasonable Sales Tax |
0/5 |
| – Allows for a Reasonable Number of Dispensaries |
5/5 |
| – Does Not Require Vertical Integration |
0/2 |
| – Ownership/Employment Restrictions |
0/2 |
| – Provisions for Labor Standards |
0/2 |
| – Environmental Impact Regulations |
0/2 |
| – Choice of Dispensary Without Restrictions |
0/2 |
| Noncommercial Cultivation |
0/20 |
| – Personal Cultivation |
0/15 |
| – Collective Gardening |
0/5 |
| Explicit Right to Edibles/Concentrates/Other Forms |
3/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans or Limits on THC |
3/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans on CBD |
10/10 |
| Local Bans/Zoning |
0/10 |
|
|
Ease of Navigation |
82/100 |
|
| Comprehensive Qualifying Conditions |
46/50 |
| Adding New Conditions |
5/10 |
| – Law/Regulations Allow for New Conditions |
5/5 |
| – System Works for Adding New Conditions |
0/5 |
| Reasonable Access for Minors |
6/10 |
| Reasonable Caregiver Background Checks |
4/4 |
| Number of Caregivers |
2/2 |
| Patient/Practitioner- Focused Task Force or Advisory Board |
2/2 |
| Reasonable Fees (Patients and Caregivers) |
10/10 |
| Allows Multiple-Year Registrations |
0/2 |
| Reasonable Physician Requirements |
4/5 |
| Does Not Classify Cannabis as a Medicine of Last Resort |
3/5 |
|
|
Functionality |
71/100 |
|
| Patients Able to Access Medicine at Dispensaries or by Cultivation |
35/50 |
| No Significant Administrative or Supply Problems |
12/15 |
| Patients Can Receive Legal Protections Within Reasonable Time Frame of Doctor's Recommendation |
8/10 |
| Reasonable Possession Limits |
4/5 |
| Reasonable Purchase Limits |
0/5 |
| Allows Patients to Medicate Where They Choose |
5/5 |
| Covered by Insurance/State Health Aid |
0/3 |
| Financial Hardship (Fee Waivers/Discount Medicine) |
7/7 |
|
|
Consumer Safety and Provider Requirements |
18.09/100 |
|
| Dispensing |
8.09/25 |
| Staff Training |
0/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
4.75/5 |
| – Facility Sanitary Conditions |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Inventory Control |
1/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
0/5 |
| Product Labeling |
3.34/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency/Compound Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
0/5 |
| – Active Compound Identification |
0/1.67 |
| – Contaminants |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency |
0/1.67 |
| Grow/Cultivation |
5/25 |
| Staff Training |
0/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
0/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0/0.71 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0/0.71 |
| – Storage Protocols (Short-Term and Long-Term Storage) |
0/0.71 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
0/0.71 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
0/0.71 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0/0.71 |
| – Water Management |
0/0.71 |
| Pesticide Guidance |
0/5 |
| – Pesticide Guidance |
0/2.5 |
| – Pesticide Labeling |
0/2.5 |
| Required Testing |
5/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Contaminants |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Potency |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Sample Retention |
1.25/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
0/5 |
| Manufacturing |
5/25 |
| Staff Training |
0/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
0/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0/1 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0/1 |
| – Storage Protocols |
0/1 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
0/1 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
0/1 |
| Product Labeling |
0/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
0/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency and Compound Information |
0/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
5/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1/1 |
| – Contaminants |
1/1 |
| – Potency |
1/1 |
| – Shelf Life Testing |
1/1 |
| – Sample Retention |
1/1 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
0/5 |
| Laboratory Operations |
0/25 |
| Staff Training |
0/5 |
| Method Validation in Accordance with AHP Guidelines |
0/5 |
| Result Reporting |
0/5 |
| Independent or Third Party |
0/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures and Protocols |
0/5 |
| – Equipment and Instrument Calibration |
0/0.83 |
| – Sample Tracking |
0/0.83 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0/0.83 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0/0.83 |
| – Storage Protocols |
0/0.83 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0/0.83 |
|
|
Covid Response |
0/20
|
|
| Delivery Available? |
0/6
|
| Curbside Pickup Available? |
0/2
|
| Medical Cannabis Essential? |
0/7
|
| Telemedicine Available? |
0/5
|
|
| Excerpted from ASA's 2020 State of the States Report. |
In This Section
In 2014, the Iowa legislature passed SF 2360, the “Medical Cannabidiol Act,” which allows licensed neurologists to certify patients with intractable epilepsy to use cannabidiol (CBD) products with 3% or less THC content. The law does not allow other types of physicians to write qualifying recommendations, nor does it allow for patients with any other conditions to obtain legal protections.
Only Iowa patients with intractable epilepsy are eligible to get a legal recommendation for CBD oil under SF 2360. They must obtain the recommendation from a neurologist has treated the patient for intractable epilepsy for at least six months.
Under SF 2360, only neurologists may recommend CBD oil, and they may only recommend it to patients are treating for intractable epilepsy.
Primary caregivers may possess and assist with administration of CBD oil to a registered patient. There are no in-state providers or producers under SF 2360. Instead, patients must obtain their CBD oil from a state that allows for reciprocity to purchase CBD oil in that state.
The State of Medical Marijuana in Iowa
