2023 Utah Code › Title 4 - Utah Agricultural Code › Chapter 41a - Cannabis Production Establishments and Pharmacies › Part 11 - Medical Cannabis Pharmacy Operation and Agents › Section 1106 - Medical cannabis pharmacy agent -- Registration.

Effective 7/1/2023
4-41a-1106.
Medical cannabis pharmacy agent -- Registration.
(1) An individual may not serve as a medical cannabis pharmacy agent of a medical cannabis pharmacy unless the department registers the individual as a medical cannabis pharmacy agent.
(2) A recommending medical provider may not act as a medical cannabis pharmacy agent, have a financial or voting interest of 2% or greater in a medical cannabis pharmacy, or have the power to direct or cause the management or control of a medical cannabis pharmacy.
(3)
(a) The department shall, within 15 days after the day on which the department receives a complete application from a medical cannabis pharmacy on behalf of a prospective medical cannabis pharmacy agent, register and issue a medical cannabis pharmacy agent registration card to the prospective agent if the medical cannabis pharmacy:
(i) provides to the department:
(A) the prospective agent's name and address;
(B) the name and location of the licensed medical cannabis pharmacy where the prospective agent seeks to act as the medical cannabis pharmacy agent; and
(C) the submission required under Subsection (3)(b); and
(ii) pays a fee to the department in an amount that, subject to Subsection 4-41a-104(5), the department sets in accordance with Section 63J-1-504.
(b) Each prospective agent described in Subsection (3)(a) shall:
(i) submit to the department:
(A) a fingerprint card in a form acceptable to the Department of Public Safety; and
(B) a signed waiver in accordance with Subsection 53-10-108(4) acknowledging the registration of the prospective agent's fingerprints in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Next Generation Identification System's Rap Back Service; and
(ii) consent to a fingerprint background check by:
(A) the Bureau of Criminal Identification; and
(B) the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(c) The Bureau of Criminal Identification shall:
(i) check the fingerprints the prospective agent submits under Subsection (3)(b) against the applicable state, regional, and national criminal records databases, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation Next Generation Identification System;
(ii) report the results of the background check to the department;
(iii) maintain a separate file of fingerprints that prospective agents submit under Subsection (3)(b) for search by future submissions to the local and regional criminal records databases, including latent prints;
(iv) request that the fingerprints be retained in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Next Generation Identification System's Rap Back Service for search by future submissions to national criminal records databases, including the Next Generation Identification System and latent prints; and
(v) establish a privacy risk mitigation strategy to ensure that the department only receives notifications for an individual with whom the department maintains an authorizing relationship.
(d) The department shall:
(i) assess an individual who submits fingerprints under Subsection (3)(b) a fee in an amount that the department sets in accordance with Section 63J-1-504 for the services that the Bureau of Criminal Identification or another authorized agency provides under this section; and
(ii) remit the fee described in Subsection (3)(d)(i) to the Bureau of Criminal Identification.
(4) The department shall designate, on an individual's medical cannabis pharmacy agent registration card the name of the medical cannabis pharmacy where the individual is registered as an agent.
(5) A medical cannabis pharmacy agent shall comply with a certification standard that the department develops in collaboration with the Division of Professional Licensing and the Board of Pharmacy, or a third-party certification standard that the department designates by rule, in collaboration with the Division of Professional Licensing and the Board of Pharmacy and in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(6) The department shall ensure that the certification standard described in Subsection (5) includes training in:
(a) Utah medical cannabis law; and
(b) medical cannabis pharmacy best practices.
(7) The department may revoke the medical cannabis pharmacy agent registration card of, or refuse to issue a medical cannabis pharmacy agent registration card to, an individual who:
(a) violates the requirements of this chapter; or
(b) is convicted under state or federal law of:
(i) a felony within the preceding 10 years; or
(ii) after December 3, 2018, a misdemeanor for drug distribution.
(8)
(a) A medical cannabis pharmacy agent registration card expires two years after the day on which the department issues or renews the card.
(b) A medical cannabis pharmacy agent may renew the agent's registration card if the agent:
(i) is eligible for a medical cannabis pharmacy agent registration card under this section;
(ii) certifies to the department in a renewal application that the information in Subsection (3)(a) is accurate or updates the information; and
(iii) pays to the department a renewal fee in an amount that:
(A) subject to Subsection 4-41a-104(5), the department sets in accordance with Section 63J-1-504; and
(B) may not exceed the cost of the relatively lower administrative burden of renewal in comparison to the original application process.
(9)
(a) As a condition precedent to registration and renewal of a medical cannabis pharmacy agent registration card, a medical cannabis pharmacy agent shall:
(i) complete at least one hour of continuing education regarding patient privacy and federal health information privacy laws that is offered by the department under Subsection (9)(b) or an accredited or approved continuing education provider that the department recognizes as offering continuing education appropriate for the medical cannabis pharmacy practice; and
(ii) make a continuing education report to the department in accordance with a process that the department establishes by rule, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, and in collaboration with the Division of Professional Licensing and the Board of Pharmacy.
(b) The department may, in consultation with the Division of Professional Licensing, develop the continuing education described in this Subsection (9).
(c) The pharmacist-in-charge described in Section 26B-4-219 shall ensure that each medical cannabis pharmacy agent working in the medical cannabis pharmacy who has access to the state electronic verification system is in compliance with this Subsection (9).
(10) A medical cannabis pharmacy shall:
(a) maintain a list of employees that have a medical cannabis pharmacy agent registration card; and
(b) provide the list to the department upon request.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 273, 2023 General Session
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 307, 2023 General Session
Amended by Chapter 307, 2023 General Session, (Coordination Clause)
Amended by Chapter 317, 2023 General Session