The burden for stocking the shelves of Utah’s new medical cannabis pharmacies has largely fallen on four of the state’s eight approved cultivators, newly released data shows, while the remaining growers have barely made a dent in demand for the plant-based treatment.
State records shared with The Salt Lake Tribune in response to a public information request show that half of Utah’s growers are responsible for about 96% of the medical cannabis harvested to date. Others have contributed only a few hundred pounds of cured cannabis in the year-plus since landing a license, irking growers who say they’ve been hustling to ease product shortages and keep prices low.
“You have to try to put out that little product,” said Narith Panh, chief strategy officer for Dragonfly Wellness, the state’s top-producing grower so far. “Anybody in their own garage can put out the same amount of product that some of these producers are putting out right now.”
But slower-moving growers say their relatively low harvest totals point to the challenges of pioneering a brand-new industry and have nothing to do with lack of motivation.
Read more at sltrib.com