The committee approved a substitute to House Bill 3 57, a measure that would modify technical requirements in Utah's medical cannabis program. Representative Ward, the bill sponsor, said the bill's aim is modest: align administrative requirements for cannabis recommendations with those for other controlled substances and refine product-label language.

"The intention and our hope is that these discussions would take place in the normal medical office where a patient receives their normal medical care," Ward said, arguing that many recommendations now come from short-transaction “card mills.” To that end, the substitute would consolidate two provider categories (qualified and limited medical providers) into a single recommending-provider category and accept the standard controlled-substance continuing medical education (CME) as sufficient for practitioners who already meet CME requirements for other controlled substances.

Ward also said the bill preserves an initial in-person visit requirement for patients being evaluated for medical-cannabis recommendations but would permit telehealth follow-up if a legal, established provider–patient relationship already exists. "If the medical provider does already have a personal relationship with that patient, they have seen them face to face ... then at the discretion of that provider, they could choose to have a visit that was a telehealth visit to provide the recommendation," Ward told committee members.

The bill's amendment updated product-label language to add a clear warning about risks to a fetus or nursing infant if cannabis is used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Ward said the change is intended to keep label text concise while adding that specific health warning.

The Utah Medical Association expressed concern about removing a separate required training for high-volume cannabis recommenders, saying the current statute’s specific education requirement helps ensure providers have expertise. "Our concern is doing away with the education that is a requirement in the statute right now," said Michelle Macomber of the association. Macomber asked that any statutory change preserve a requirement that high-volume recommending providers take a substantive course.

Committee members discussed continuing-education burdens and whether the proposed changes would lower provider-quality safeguards. Ward and other supporters said the reform accepts standard controlled-substance CME already required for prescribing other medications but does not expand the list of provider types that may recommend cannabis.

The committee adopted the substitute, approved an amendment to the substitute dealing with label language, and then passed the substitute with a favorable recommendation; votes were taken by voice and no roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript.