Medical conditions that qualify for medical marijuana include autism, PTSD

(KUTV) -- Tuesday marked the day after Gov. Gary Herbert signed the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, designed as a replacement for voter-approved Proposition 2, into law and now people are wondering how to qualify for a prescription.

Connor Boyack, president of Libertas Institute, issued a statement about the new law:

Tens of thousands of patients in Utah have been waiting for years to see a broad medical cannabis program be put in place. That day has arrived — but it's just the beginning, because we will continue working in the years ahead to expand the list and make sure every person in need as the right to try this medicine.

The Institute posted a list of conditions approved for medical cannabis use on its Facebook page.

Conditions approved also may likely include patients who are currently using opioid medications prescribed by their physicians who can attest that non-opioids cannot manage their pain.

Other conditions approved for medicinal marijuana detailed in part by the Institute are:

• HIV or AIDS
• Alzheimer's disease
• ALS
• Cancer
• Cachexia
• Crohn's or ulcerative colitis
• PTSD
• Autism, among others.

Herbert said in press release that the new bill signed into law was "a history day." He added:

With the passage of the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, Utah now has the best-designed medical cannabis program in the country. Working with trained medical professionals, qualified patients in Utah will be able to receive quality-controlled cannabis products from a licensed pharmacist in medical dosage form. And this will be done in a way that prevents diversion of product into a black market.

An overview of the 200-page bill can be viewed by clicking below.

Utah now joins 31 other states and Washington, DC, that allow marijuana for medical purposes.

However, not all states are the same when it comes to use of medical marijuana dispensaries. Some states also allow home cultivation while others only allow dispensaries but not home cultivation.

Although medical marijuana use is being allowed more readily, it is still strictly prohibited by the federal government.

Under the scheduling system, the federal government classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse.

The classification puts marijuana in the same category as heroin and a more restrictive category than schedule 2 drugs like cocaine and meth.

Because of the federal restrictions, funds from medical marijuana transactions cannot go through banks.

The Utah Department of Financial Institutions told 2News, “to provide services to a marijuana business is viewed as aiding and abetting a violation of federal law.”

The federal regulations that deter banks from working with legal dispensaries will still have to be mitigated in Utah with its forthcoming state-licensed marijuana dispensaries.