As Utahns hit the road and board flights for summer travel, WholesomeCo, Utah’s largest medical cannabis operator, has compiled important tips for Utah medical cannabis cardholders. Given that the number of medical cannabis cardholders in Utah tripled last year and regulations regarding cannabis and travel vary greatly among states, WholesomeCo’s experts have outlined the legalities to keep in mind when traveling with cannabis across Utah and beyond. 

“With the number of medical cannabis cardholders rapidly increasing in Utah and our goal to normalize cannabis as a natural path to health and wellness, we want to ensure all patients are informed and prepared when traveling,” said Chris Jeffrey, founder, and CEO of WholesomeCo. “By following these practices, medical cannabis cardholders can travel with ease and confidence this summer.”

Driving with Cannabis in Utah 
Yes, you can take your medical cannabis with you for your trip from one end of the state to the other as long as you have your Utah medical cannabis card with you, and you are in possession of 113 grams of cannabis flower or less and 20 grams of active THC or less.

Just follow these simple guidelines below:

• Products must be transported in the original container/package and inside the opaque bag or box given to you by the pharmacy from which you purchased your medicine. 
• If you are a caregiver, you may transport the patient’s medicine for them and carry and present the patient’s card for them (make sure you have yours as well if that is applicable). 
• Store all medical cannabis, medical cannabis products, or medical cannabis devices in a vehicle in a closed/locked bag or another container outside of reach (i.e., in the trunk or backseat).

With the exception of an “emergency medical condition,” a medical cannabis patient cardholder, a provisional patient cardholder, or a nonresident patient may not use, in public view, medical cannabis or a cannabis product.

Driving Across State Lines with Cannabis 
Utah residents carrying a legal medical cannabis card for a qualifying condition cannot travel to a neighboring state while in possession of medical cannabis. The reason is because of the illegality of cannabis at the federal level. Even if you were going from one state where medical cannabis is legal to another medical cannabis state or adult-use state (such as from Utah to Arizona, for example), it would still be illegal to do so.

Flying with Cannabis: What the Feds Say
While medical cannabis is medically legal in Utah and in most other states (whether medically or for adult-use), cannabis is still considered an illegal Schedule I substance at the federal level. This means that whether you are flying out of Utah into another state, from another state into Utah, or flying within the state of Utah, you cannot under any circumstances be in possession of cannabis when on board an aircraft, even if you have your medical cannabis card with you.

WholesomeCo Head of Legal, Compliance & Gov’t Affairs J. D. Lauritzen noted, “These days the TSA is fairly lenient at many airports when it comes to cannabis. They are looking more for items that may put passengers at risk, like firearms, not cannabis, and do not have the authority to arrest or fine you for it. That being said, if they do find any in your luggage or on your person, they will be obligated to inform the local authorities, who have the authority to charge you for a crime.”

International Travel with Cannabis 
If flying across the United States is precarious, then taking an international flight with your personal stash in tow is even more so. There are a couple of reasons for this. If you are taking off from a U.S. airport, then you run again into the illegality of cannabis in federal airspace. Once you land, then you are under the jurisdiction of that country and its laws. Each country has its own laws regarding cannabis. For example, cannabis is legal in Spain, but flying with cannabis in that country is illegal and can lead to a multi-year prison sentence. 

It is important to remember that, although cannabis legalization has made great strides in recent times, there are a number of states where it remains entirely illegal (including in the Utah-neighboring states of Idaho and Wyoming).

“While there are legislative movements on both the federal and state levels to lower the harsh penalties for cannabis-related infringements, at the moment these penalties are still severe,” said Lauritzen. “Most cannabis-related crimes in Utah and in many other states are considered Class B misdemeanors which may result in a $1,000 fine and six months in prison for the illegal possession/use of cannabis. The penalties for medical cannabis cardholders that violate the law may be less severe in certain instances, however.”

How to Get a Medical Cannabis Card 
Getting a medical cannabis card in Utah is a straightforward process. The first step is to visit a qualified medical provider who will determine if medical cannabis is right for you. Next, register with the state at  id.utah.gov. Finally, register on WholesomeCo’s site and shop their online menu to make your first delivery or pickup order. They offer free, same-day delivery to 99% of Utah’s population. 

The post Traveling with medical cannabis appeared first on Park Record.

Since the Utah Medical Cannabis Act was enacted in 2018, cannabis has become extremely accessible for Utahns with qualifying conditions. WholesomeCo, a medical cannabis pharmacy located in West Bountiful, now offers delivery to 99 percent of patients across the state, for free. After following the steps to obtain a medical cannabis card, patients can conveniently receive orders right to their doors. As the first and only licensed pharmacy in Utah to offer free statewide delivery, WholesomeCo strives to make medical cannabis accessible for anyone who needs it. 

Safe, Reliable, Wholesome Delivery

Medical cannabis can be a tricky product to distribute due to its seed-to-sale tracking system. Luckily, WholesomeCo’s co-founder and CEO, Chris Jeffery—a Park City local—had past experience building an online ordering system similar to what WholesomeCo needed. Prior to the establishment of WholesomeCo, Jeffery co-founded a company called OrderUp, a food delivery service similar to Uber Eats. WholesomeCo facilitated its goal to offer cannabis delivery by working with the Utah legislature to create an interface that interacts directly with consumers, while being overviewed by state regulators. The system is now used to safely deliver medical cannabis to patients, ensuring the right products for each patient’s personal needs. Additional requirements of the service include background screenings for drivers, discreet delivery vehicles, GPS monitoring and security systems, and that they be vaccinated for Covid-19. These regulations help guarantee products are kept safe until they reach the doors of Utah medical cannabis patients.

How to Obtain a Medical Card in Utah  

Want to experience the convenience of medical cannabis online ordering services for yourself? There are currently over 37,000 Utahns using cannabis to treat a variety of conditions and improve their quality of life. As of now, there are 16 medical conditions approved by the Utah legislature that allow patients to be treated with medical cannabis. The first step is to meet with a qualified medical provider (QMP) who will determine if cannabis is the right option for you. Try WholesomeCo’s locating feature to find a QMP near you. Next, register with the State by visiting id.utah.gov. After you have created an account, log in to evs.utah.gov with the same username and password and begin the patient application process. Your medical provider can assist you with any of these steps. 

Simplifying and normalizing the process of using medical cannabis is one of WholesomeCo’s top priorities. The pharmacy has recently implemented an instant verification for medical card holders. Once you have met with a qualified medical provider and completed the registration process, WholesomeCo can instantly verify your medical card online. You are then eligible to shop and utilize the free delivery service! 

Increased Delivery Times for Summit and Wasatch Counties, including Sundays 

WholesomeCo has worked hard to expand its unique and convenient online services. Sunday delivery is now available to Summit and Wasatch Counties. Same-day delivery is also available. 

WholesomeCo is there to help all card-holding Utahns along their health and wellness journies, even those who may not have the ability to utilize in-store or drive-thru options. If you’re curious about whether medical cannabis could be right for you, WholesomeCo offers free consultations with expert pharmacists to help start your journey! Schedule your consultation here today. 

Times available for delivery in the Summit and Wasatch County area are as follows: 

Open days/times:

• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 3-5pm, 5-7pm  
  • Order same-day until 2pm
• Saturday: 11-1pm, 1-3pm
  • Order same-day until 9am
• Sunday: 11-1pm
  • Order same-day until 9am

The post WholesomeCo Offers Free Cannabis Delivery Service to Summit and Wasatch Counties appeared first on Park Record.

Arthritis of the knee and hip are the most common aches and pains that discourage people in their middle and older ages from skiing. Yet today, these men and women visit our offices for “lube jobs,” as many call them, in order to enjoy winter sports. What has changed?

Joint lubrication used to be a simple injection of hyaluronic acid (HA). It worked but often didn’t last long enough. This was in part because inflammation is the most common cause of joint pain, and HA alone is not potent enough to combat the inflammation generators. Today, HA is combined with growth factors from a variety of sources. These include your own blood (called PRP), fat, and bone marrow. These growth factors stimulate the joint lining to produce more HA, decrease the degradative enzymes in the joint associated with arthritis, and increase the anabolic factors that promote healing.  

The current thinking is that specific growth factors recruit the body’s own stem-cell-derived self-repair cells to the joint. These further decrease inflammation and promote whatever healing can occur. Last year’s thinking—that we should inject stem cells directly—has been replaced, as it is now believed that the directly injected stem cells probably die off too quickly. But since everyone has billions of stem cells, activating and recruiting them to the site of injury makes the most sense. Our research today focuses on which injected bioactive factors are most effective at recruiting these native repair cells: producing natural HA as a lubricant and decreasing inflammation. Our “lube job” of today is a potent cocktail of these factors. Many patients report six months to a year of joint pain relief—usually enough to get through the ski season.

Physical therapy, Pilates, yoga, and workouts with stretching, guided by great trainers and therapists, helps keep arthritic joints moving. Stiffness and loss of motion are what people notice the most when returning to skiing, and those activities help tremendously. Getting in a hot tub or doing a stretching fitness class early in the morning before hitting the slopes, are also great ways to get more enjoyment out of your day. Even a pre-ski 20-minute stationary bike spin can do the trick. Most of my 70-90-year-olds ski the sweet spot of the day (10 am -2 pm), avoid low visibility or icy days, and smile all the way down the slopes. I often write prescriptions that state, “must ski powder.”

NSAIDS such as Ibuprofen and Celebrex still have their place and can be used for a few days before and during skiing. We prefer not to keep people on them, as they have deleterious side effects. We avoid cortisone, preferring to use bioactive factors.

If the tissue is damaged enough, it’s best to repair it rather than masking the injuries. Surgical repairs, both biologic and bionic, have improved so much that skiing after either meniscus replacement and articular cartilage repair, or after robotic partial and total knee replacements, are now prescribed as a therapy rather than abandoned. In general, it takes three to six months to return to skiing after complex knee joint repairs—so many patients opt for surgery in the late spring or summer. By the time early winter comes, they prefer joint lubes. This allows them to delay their joint repairs until after the snow has melted.

So buy your lift tickets. Tune your skis. Buckle the new lightweight soft-flex, high-reactive ski boots and head for the hills. If your joints talk to you, quiet them with targeted care that keeps you moving, sliding, turning, and gliding.

Medically authored by

Kevin R. Stone, MD

Orthopaedic surgeon, clinician, scientist, inventor, and founder of multiple companies. Dr. Stone was trained at Harvard University in internal medicine and orthopaedic surgery and at Stanford University in general surgery.

The post Skiing with Arthritis appeared first on Park Record.

Surely you have heard the usual advice: Get strong, stay flexible, don’t take the last run, and ski with a helmet. All fine and good—until you notice that the top skiers on ski teams, along with super fit backcountry skiers, all get hurt too. So, let’s think about some of the less common ski tips and see if they keep you safe this season.

1. Gear matters. Sharp edges and well-tuned skis grab snow snakes less often and get you out of trouble when you really need that edge. Go to the ski shop now, and tune your gear.
   
2. Wide skis are fun in powder, but they increase the injury rate on groomed slopes. The wider the ski, the harder it is to lay them over on their edge, which creates more torque on the knee. No one ski is best. Rent or buy skis for the conditions you are in each day.  
   
3. Binding design has only marginally improved, and no unbiased data shows that one binding is better than another. Multi-directional heel release (Howell design) should change this. New bindings, however, have less grit, more accurate calibration, and less interface wear. Get them set to the right release setting for the skier you actually are and not the one you imagine yourself to be.
   
4. Helmets have not been shown to reduce neck or significant head injuries, except in some collisions with tree branches or other objects. Clear visibility of your goggles and headgear probably matters even more. For racing, there is no doubt: no helmet, no starts.
   
5. Drugs and alcohol are legal in many ski states, but both truly reduce athletic performance. Skiing and boarding half-baked sounds cool to some, but are dangerous to most. Cigarette smoking is just plain idiotic.
   
6. Cold feet, cold muscles, and stiff backs lead to an overall reduction in the ability to respond to sudden changes in position. Start the day in a hot shower or hot tub. Stretch there, rather than on a cold floor. If you have poor blood circulation, get boot warmers, or heated socks and gloves. They really work—though they are not durable and don’t survive washing. Upgrade your clothing to the newer materials that are thinner, warmer, and stretchier. Ride the covered lifts. Drink warm fluids. You will be surprised by how much staying warm decreases minor injuries (including those that may lead to major injuries).
   
7. Look at the grooming map of the mountain. Surprisingly, not many skiers do. There are far fewer injuries on groomed trails than in rough skiing conditions.
   
8. Time your skiing. Ski during the best sun and best snow conditions of the day. Eat lunch when few other people do. The goal is to ski for a long time in life, not a long time in one day.
   
9. Take a guide. Most people do not appreciate how many hidden ski trails there are on every mountain. While skiing is already extraordinarily expensive, local hosts and mountain guides are often relatively cheap compared to ski school instructors. The hidden stashes will put huge grins on everyone’s faces.
   
10. Fix what’s broken. If your back, shoulder, knee, or other joints are holding you back, get them repaired. The science of joint repair and rehabilitation has advanced so far that almost all joint injuries and arthritic conditions can be repaired well enough to return you to skiing, sometimes within the season.

Winter brings the opportunity for you to slide down nature’s slopes, often without even walking up, bringing bliss to those of you who plan to enjoy it. The operative word is plan. 

Medically authored by 

Kevin R. Stone, MD

Orthopaedic surgeon, clinician, scientist, inventor, and founder of multiple companies. Dr. Stone was trained at Harvard University in internal medicine and orthopaedic surgery and at Stanford University in general surgery.

The post Uncommon Tips for Skiing Safety appeared first on Park Record.

Tell me a story.

Now more than ever, people all over the world are connected through their life experiences. They have a story to tell. Since 1981, Sundance Institute has offered a supportive space to learn how to share it.

Celebrating our local community is an integral part of Sundance Institute. We’ve missed the familiar, personal feel of interacting with our friends and loyal supporters during this past year. This special place is an essential part of our story.

Park City may enjoy international notoriety as a world-class ski destination and site of the 2002 Olympics, but the cooperative efforts that make the Sundance Film Festival an international celebration of the independent film industry’s most brilliant minds rest on a solid partnership between Park City and the Sundance Institute. We value the relationship we’ve enjoyed with the Park City community since the beginning.

To celebrate the reopening of our city, we are delighted to share a bird’s eye view of this season’s exciting creative lineup of screenings and collaborative engagements.

Among the many screenings throughout the year, we are delighted to host this summer’s iteration of For the Locals program on July 14 – 17. Don’t miss this moving set of award-winning films from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, hosted at Park City’s own Utah Olympic Park and some of Salt Lake City’s most influential and historic venues.

Enjoy our summer film program with notable partnerships including the Arts Council Park City + Summit County, Christian Center of Park City, Craft Lake City, Dragonfli Media, Park City Film, Salt Lake City Arts Council, THE BLOCKS, and the Utah Film Center.

Be sure to visit us at the following summer events:
Park City’s Latino Arts Festival
Salt Lake City’s Living Traditions Festival
Downtown SLC Open Streets
Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival
Craft Lake City DIY Festival

For more event information, please visit https://www.sundance.org/sundancelocals.

The post Local Sundance Institute Screenings are back and better than ever appeared first on Park Record.