Utah Cannabis Advertising Laws

Utah prohibits any person from advertising in any medium regarding a medical cannabis pharmacy or the dispensing of medical cannabis, then permits seven categories by name: the pharmacy's name and logo, its location and hours, a service available at the pharmacy, personnel affiliated with it, home delivery licence status, best practices it upholds, and educational material as defined by the Department. Product and brand advertising is available only through targeted marketing as the Department defines by rule.

Working with a partner that already knows these rules shortens the launch cycle. See how we run campaigns as a cannabis marketing agency in Utah.

A general prohibition applies under subsection (1) to any person, and subsection (2) permits a medical cannabis pharmacy to advertise seven enumerated categories about itself. Product, device and brand advertising is available only through targeted marketing as the Department determines by rule.

Utah legalised medical cannabis through Proposition 2 in 2018, replaced within weeks by the Utah Medical Cannabis Act. There is no adult-use programme. Regulation is split: the Department of Agriculture and Food licenses cultivation, processing and medical cannabis pharmacies, while the Department of Health and Human Services runs the patient card programme.

Advertising sits in statute at Utah Code Section 4-41a-1104, effective July 1, 2023 following renumbering and amendment in the 2023 General Session.

Utah's terminology is statutory: dispensaries are medical cannabis pharmacies.

There is one advertising rule set. Utah has no adult-use programme and no second framework.

This page is part of our state-by-state cannabis advertising laws library, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The prohibition

Under subsection (1), a person may not advertise in any medium regarding a medical cannabis pharmacy or the dispensing of medical cannabis within the state, except as the section provides.

The provision says "a person" rather than "a licensee," and the exceptions at subsection (2) are drafted for a medical cannabis pharmacy.

The seven permitted categories

Under subsection (2)(c), a pharmacy may advertise in any medium:

• The pharmacy's name and logo
• The location and hours of operation
• A service available at the pharmacy
• Personnel affiliated with the pharmacy
• Whether the pharmacy is licensed as a home delivery medical cannabis pharmacy
• Best practices that the pharmacy upholds
• Educational material related to the medical use of cannabis, as defined by the Department

This is a permissive list. An activity outside the enumerated categories is caught by the general prohibition at subsection (1).

Employment advertising

Under (2)(a), a pharmacy may advertise an employment opportunity, which is a separate permission from the seven.

Business name and licence number

The name and logo may be advertised under (2)(c)(i). No licence number is required.

The required warning statements

None. Section 4-41a-1104 mandates no warning language, licence number or hotline in advertising.

How the warnings have to appear

Not applicable, as none are required.

When the warnings are not required

Not applicable. The permitted content is defined positively and includes no disclosure requirement.

Hotline number

Not required.

Product and brand advertising

Under (2)(f), a pharmacy may engage in targeted marketing, as determined by the department through rule, for advertising a particular medical cannabis product, medical cannabis device, or medical cannabis brand.

Section 4-41a-1104 does not define targeted marketing. The Department's rule defines it, and it is the only route the statute provides for product, device or brand advertising. Check the Department's current rule before planning any product or brand campaign.

Discounts, coupons, and price promotion

Price is not among the seven permitted categories at (2)(c), and Section 4-41a-1104 does not address price promotion elsewhere. An activity outside the enumerated categories is caught by the prohibition at subsection (1), unless it falls within the Department's targeted marketing rule.

Pre-approval

Not required. Educational material is "as defined by the department," so the Department's rule governs what qualifies.

What the Law Requires

Section 4-41a-1104 sets no audience standard for advertising. The one age rule in the section concerns educational events: the Department must make rules setting a minimum age of 21 for attendees, with an exception for a medical cannabis patient cardholder who is at least 18.

Utah issues patient cards to people under 21, which the event exception addresses.

Audience Percentage Thresholds

Section 4-41a-1104 sets no audience composition percentage. This is an absence in the statute rather than an omission from this page. Other states do set one: Connecticut requires reliable evidence that at least 90 percent of the audience is 21 or older, and Delaware requires at least 85 percent.

What the statute uses instead

The seven permitted categories at (2)(c), which define what may be said regardless of who sees it.

Event sponsorship

For educational events, the Department's rules set 21 as the minimum attendee age with an exception for patient cardholders aged at least 18.

Where the burden sits

The prohibition at subsection (1) binds any person; the exceptions at subsection (2) run to the medical cannabis pharmacy.

Age Gating and Consent

Websites

Section 4-41a-1104 prescribes no website age gate and no age verification requirement. Under (2)(e), website inventory information must be non-promotional.

Direct communication

Section 4-41a-1104 contains no age affirmation requirement for direct or individualized communication.

Location-based devices

Section 4-41a-1104 contains no location-based device provision.

Established customers

Section 4-41a-1104 contains no exception removing communications to existing patients from the prohibition.

Educational events

Minimum attendee age 21, with an exception for a patient cardholder who is at least 18.

People Depicted in Ads

Section 4-41a-1104 contains no casting restriction, no minimum age for persons appearing in advertising, no cartoon or mascot prohibition, and no prohibition on depicting consumption.

Under (2)(c)(iv), personnel affiliated with the pharmacy may be advertised. Depicting anyone else must fall within another permitted category.

Restricted Locations and Buffer Distances

Section 4-41a-1104 states no advertising buffer. It contains no distance requirement around schools, childcare facilities, playgrounds, parks or libraries, and no transit or public property prohibition. This is an absence in the statute rather than an omission from this page.

The Local Ordinance Provision

Premises signage is permitted notwithstanding any municipal or county ordinance prohibiting signage, but must comply with local ordinances regulating signage. A municipality may regulate the sign; a prohibition does not apply to it. Confirm which category a given local provision falls into.

Can You Run a Digital Out of Home Screen in Utah?

Section 4-41a-1104 contains no cannabis-specific buffer, billboard prohibition or daypart. A screen carrying content within the seven permitted categories is available, subject to general outdoor advertising law and local ordinances regulating signage.

Compliant Use of Geotargeting

• Section 4-41a-1104 states no advertising buffer, so there is no facility exclusion layer required by state law.
• Map every piece of creative to one of the seven permitted categories, since that is the operative test.
• Check the Department's rule on targeted marketing before any product, device or brand campaign, since it is the only route the statute provides.
• Check the Department's definition of educational material before building a content programme around category seven.
• For premises signage, distinguish local ordinances that prohibit from those that regulate.
• Plan for delivery into Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming and New Mexico, each of which applies its own advertising rules.

One advertising rule set. Utah is medical only. Proposition 2 passed in November 2018 and was replaced within weeks by the Utah Medical Cannabis Act.

Products are dispensed from medical cannabis pharmacies licensed by the Department of Agriculture and Food, with pharmacists involved in dispensing decisions, and patients hold cards issued through the Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking cannabis is not permitted; the programme centres on processed forms.

Educational events are a defined activity. A pharmacy may hold an event for the public or for medical providers, but may not include any topic conflicting with the Act or the medical cannabis provisions of Title 26B; any gift items or merchandise other than educational materials as the Department defines them; or any marketing for a specific product, or any statement, claim or information that would violate the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Presenters are limited to a licensed pharmacist, an advanced practice registered nurse, a physician, an osteopathic physician, a physician assistant, a comparable practitioner licensed in another state or country, a state employee, or, where the presentation relates to a cannabis topic other than medical treatment or medical conditions, an individual the Department approves based on background and credentials.

Who regulates hemp here

The Department of Agriculture and Food, which also licenses cannabis production establishments and pharmacies. The frameworks are separate.

Non-intoxicating hemp and CBD

Permitted through general retail under Utah's industrial hemp programme, subject to registration and labelling requirements. A hemp product outside the medical cannabis channel is not a medical cannabis pharmacy or the dispensing of medical cannabis, so Section 4-41a-1104 does not reach it. General Utah consumer protection law and federal restrictions on health claims apply instead.

Intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids

Utah has restricted intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products, directing psychoactive cannabinoids into the medical channel rather than general retail. The position has continued to develop. The federal definition of hemp narrows in November 2026. Confirm the current status before planning any hemp campaign.

What it means for advertising

A medical cannabis pharmacy may advertise only the seven enumerated categories about itself, plus product advertising through the Department's targeted marketing route. A registered hemp product outside the channel faces no cannabis-specific advertising restriction. Classify each product before building a media plan.

Every statement on this page traces to one of the following:

• Utah Code Section 4-41a-1104, Advertising, effective July 1, 2023, renumbered and amended by Chapters 273, 307 and 317, 2023 General Session
• Utah Code Title 4, Chapter 41a, Cannabis Production Establishments and Pharmacies, including Section 4-41a-109(4)
• Utah Code Title 26B, Chapter 4, Part 2, Cannabinoid Research and Medical Cannabis
• Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Medical Cannabis Program

Two pivotal terms, educational material and targeted marketing, are defined by Department rule rather than by statute. Confirm the current rules before relying on either.