Iowa
Medical Marijuana
State v. Middlekauff, 974 N.W.2d 781, 798 (Iowa 2022): “Whereas some other drugs can be dispensed and prescribed for medical use the same is not true for marijuana. Indeed, for purposes of the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana has ‘no currently accepted medical use’ at all.” United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Coop., 532 U.S. 483, 491 (2001) (citation omitted)
Iowa Code §§ 124E.1 to 124E.26 (2021)
2020 Act No. 1116 
Cannabidiol Act Amendments of 2020
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2020
Note: removed the cap on delta-9-thc and replaced it with a 4.5 gram per 90-day limit including a waiver application for a greater gram limit.
2020 Act No. 1023
Sec. 3, Sec. 4
Removed Cannabis from Schedule II, Iowa Code § 124.206
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 2020
Note:
(1) the pharmacy board recommended removing cannabis from Schedule I in 2010;
(2) an exception for ‘medical’ cannabidiol (defined as any cannabinoid extracted from cannabis plants as long as delta-9-thc did not exceed 3.0%) was created in 2014;
(3) the ‘medical’ cannabidiol program was created in 2017 (allowing cultivation of cannabis to make extracts);
(4) the cap on delta-9-thc was replaced with a 4.5 gram per 90-day limit in 2020 (Act No. 1116).
Removing cannabis from Schedule II means that cannabis has no medical use at all (just the opposite of what the pharmacy board recommended in 2010).
Iowa Code §§ 124E.1 to 124E.18 (2018)
2017 Act No. 162
Cannabidiol Act of 2017
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 12, 2017
Note: continues the limit of 3.0% THC which is ten times greater than the limit of 0.3% for industrial hemp.
Iowa Code §§ 124D.1 to 124D.8 (2017)
2014 Act No. 1125
Cannabidiol Act of 2014
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 30, 2014
Note: sets a limit of 3.0% THC which is ten times greater than the limit of 0.3% for industrial hemp.
Amendment to SF484 drafted by Iowa Senator Jack Whitver on April 15, 2015
Pharmacy board recommends removing marijuana from Schedule I to recognize medical value (2010)
State v. Bonjour, 694 NW 2d 511, 514 (Iowa 2005): As the law stands now, manufacturing marijuana is prohibited and marijuana has no recognized medicinal value. The issue in this case is not whether the legislature has “acted to preclude the defense by a clear and deliberate choice,” Commw. v. Hutchins, 410 Mass. 726, 575 N.E.2d 741, 744 (1991). It has not. What it has done, however, is to clearly and deliberately decide what the procedure shall be for making that determination. That procedure is to defer to the Board of Pharmacy Examiners, which is far better equipped than this court – and the legislature, for that matter – to make critical decisions regarding the medical effectiveness of marijuana use and the conditions, if any, it may be used to treat. The board has not done so, and we, by legislative directive, must wait until it does.
1987 Iowa Administrative Bulletin 1444 (ARC 7383)
Page 1445
Item 4
Rescind 620 — Chapter 12 in its entirety.
Letter from Iowa Board of Pharmacy, July 16, 1996
Industrial Hemp
2024 Acts Chapter 1176
Consumable Hemp Products
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2024
2020 Acts Chapter 1065
Consumable Hemp Products
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 16, 2020
2022 Acts Chapter 1049
Sec. 4
Hemp Act Amendments
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 2, 2022
maximum tetrahydrocannabinol concentration, inclusive of any isomers, derivatives, and analogs, whether naturally occurring or synthesized, that does not exceed three-tenths of one percent
2021 Acts Chapter 93
Sec. 18
Hemp Act Amendments
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 10, 2021
Removed the delta-9 prefix from THC: “maximum tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed three-tenths of one percent”
2021 Acts Chapter 80
Sec. 61, Sec. 62
Hemp Act Amendments
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 30, 2021
maximum delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed three-tenths of one percent
2019 Acts Chapter 130
Hemp Act
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 13, 2019
a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths of one percent
History
2021 Acts Chapter 93
Sec. 29
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 10, 2021
Iowa removes naturally derived THC from Schedule III and returns to synthetic-only, Iowa Code § 124.208.
2021 Acts Chapter 93
Sec. 15
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 10, 2021
Marijuana extract added to Iowa Schedule I, Iowa Code § 124.204. DEA added a drug code for marijuana extract in 2016, Federal Register: Vol. 81, No. 240, Wednesday, December 14, 2016.
2018 Acts Chapter 1138
Sec. 29
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 14, 2018
Dronabinol, both natural and synthetic, in an oral solution added to Iowa Schedule II, Iowa Code § 124.206
2011 Acts Chapter 134
Sec. 18
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 29, 2011
Adding to Iowa Code § 124.204:
(3) Salvia divinorum.
(4) Salvinorin A.
2008 Acts Chapter 1010
Sec. 4
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 5, 2008
DEA was considering removing the synthetic restriction on THC, but never did. Federal Register: Vol. 72, No. 184, Monday, September 24, 2007. For some reason, Iowa jumped ahead of the DEA again (as it did in 1986 with dronabinol) and amended synthetic to include naturally derived THC in Schedule III until 2021 when it was returned again to synthetic-only.
2007 Acts Chapter 8
Sec. 4
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 28, 2007
Iowa removed synthetic as a qualifier for THC in Schedule I
2000 Acts Chapter 1140
Sec. 7
Sec. 10
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 25, 2000
Section 124.206, subsection 7, paragraph b, Code 1999, is amended by striking the paragraph
Section 124.208, Code 1999, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
8. HALLUCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES.
Dronabinol (synthetic) in sesame oil and encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule in a United States Food and Drug Administration approved product. Some other names for dronabinol: (6aR-trans)-6a, 7, 8, 10a-tetrahydro-6, 6, 9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo [b,d] pyran-l-ol, or (-) -delta -9-(trans) -tetrahydrocannabinol.
Rescheduling of the Food and Drug Administration Approved Product Containing Synthetic Dronabinol [(-)-Δ9-(trans)-Tetrahydrocannabinol] in Sesame Oil and Encapsulated in Soft Gelatin Capsules From Schedule II to Schedule III: Schedule III, 21 C.F.R. § 1308.13, Federal Register, Vol. 64, No. 127, Friday, July 2, 1999.
1990 Acts Chapter 1251
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 1990
Iowa Drug Tax
1990 Acts Chapter 1059
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 26, 1990
Changing the wording for marijuana and dronabinol in Schedule II, but nothing of great significance
1986 Acts Chapter 1037
Sec. 4
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 7, 1986
Schedule II, Section 204.206, subsection 7, Code Supplement 1985, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
7. HALLUCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES.
Marijuana is deemed to be a schedule II substance when used for medicinal purposes pursuant to rules of the board of pharmacy examiners.
Dronabinol (synthetic) in sesame oil and encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule in a United States food and drug administration approved drug product. [Some other names for Dronabinol (6aR Trans)-6a, 7, 8, 10a-Tetrahydro-6, 6, 9-Trimethyl-3 pentyl-6H-dibenzol [b,d] pyran-1-01 or (-) delta 9-(trans)-tetrahydrocannabinol.]
Synethetic Dronabinol in Sesame Oil and Encapsulared in Soft Gelatin Capsules: Schedule II, 21 C.F.R. § 1308.12, Federal Register, Vol. 51, No. 92, Tuesday, May 13, 1986.
1979 Acts Chapter 9
Sec. 3
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1979
The board shall organize an advisory group of physicians, which shall include a psychiatrist, to advise the board on the type of program to be established, the qualifications of those who will be eligible to dispense the marijuana, and the federal regulations governing the program. The board shall be responsible for complying with all federal regulations necessary for the establishment and continuation of the program and the monitoring of all program participants. The board shall not authorize the growing of marijuana within the state.
1971 Acts Chapter 148
Uniform Controlled Substances Act
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1971
1921 Acts Chapter 282
Habit Forming Drugs (canabis indica, canabis americana, or indian hemp)
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 15, 1921