Long trips for a short supply, but there’s optimism in Iowa on medical cannabis

Lawmakers in the US state of Iowa – like those in neighbouring Wisconsin – are reluctant to take a different a line than the federal Congress in Washington on the legality or otherwise of cannabis products. And that means Iowans who rely on supplies of medical cannabis are tightly restricted in how much they can have, and may face a long trip to get it from one of the few licensed dispensaries in the state.

Iowa has one of the strictest medical cannabis programs in the US, established in 2014 to protect Iowans who purchase 3% THC oils from other states as seizure treatments. The program has slowly evolved over the last eight years, but remains a “highly restricted, regulated,” program, according to the leader of the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).