Black Hawk County Cannabis – Is It Legal & Where To Buy 2025

Is Cannabis Cultivation Legal in Black Hawk County?

Chapter 124E of the State of Iowa’s Code or the Medical Cannabidiol Act and the Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) 641-154 allow the licensed cultivation of cannabis in Black Hawk County but for medical purposes only. The State of Iowa’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) manages the Medical Cannabis Program through the Bureau of Cannabis Regulation (BCR).

Chapter 124E and IAC 641-154 authorized the HHS to grant qualified applicants the medical cannabis manufacturer license, which allows the holder to cultivate medical cannabis crops and manufacture medical cannabis products to be sold only to other licensed manufacturers and licensed medical cannabis dispensaries. A non-refundable application fee of $7,500 was set.

Chapter 124E further required that the owners and employees of a licensed medical cannabis manufacturer company should have passed a criminal background check and have not committed any disqualifying felony offenses. Employees must be at least 18 years old.

Any medical cannabis facility of the licensed medical cannabis manufacturer must be located at its registered address and more than 1,000 feet away from a school. It is prohibited to share the same location with a licensed medical cannabis dispensary or a healthcare practitioner or to allow any medical cannabis consumption on-site. All signage, displays, advertising, and marketing must be in compliance with HHS regulations.

The licensed medical cannabis manufacturer must have an enclosed facility, locked and equipped with a security system that has intrusion detection, alarms, and staff identification for access control. The facility is subject to HHS inspection.

Random samples must be taken by the licensed medical cannabis manufacturer from every batch of medical cannabis crops and products to be tested for content, quality, and purity by a laboratory approved by the HHS. An accurate inventory system must be kept updated.

Is Cannabis Manufacturing Legal in Black Hawk County?

Licensed cannabis product manufacturing in Black Hawk County is allowed by the State of Iowa’s Code Chapter 124E and IAC 641-154 only for medical cannabis products. Only holders of the HHS medical cannabis manufacturer license may do so. Hence, they must comply with the same regulations discussed above.

In addition, the licensed cannabis product manufacturer must comply with all the requirements for safe packaging and complete and accurate labeling, including warnings, set forth in IAC 641-154.21(124E). These include being child-safe and tamper-proof, as well as being manageable for the elderly.

Is Cannabis Retail Legal in Black Hawk County?

Licensed cannabis retail in Black Hawk County is allowed under Code Chapter 124E and IAC 641-154 of the State of Iowa, but only for medical cannabis and medical cannabis products sold to medical cannabis cardholders.

The HHS was authorized by Chapter 124E and IAC 641-154 to grant the medical cannabis dispensary license to qualified applicants. The non-refundable application fee was set at $5,000. Licensed medical cannabis dispensaries are required to comply with the other requirements for application, as well as criminal background checks, location restrictions, security, and inventory keeping like licensed medical cannabis manufacturers. They are also prohibited from allowing the consumption of medical cannabis within their premises, and from sharing their space with a healthcare practitioner. In addition, a licensed medical cannabis dispensary is required to always have either a licensed pharmacist or licensed pharmacy technician on-site to supervise every sale.

Every 90 days, a medical cannabis cardholder is allowed to purchase from a licensed dispensary only 4.5 grams of total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in medical cannabis and medical cannabis products. This may only be exceeded if the waiver form of the patient’s certifying healthcare practitioner was posted on the online registry, showing the new limit allowed for the particular patient. Such exceptions are granted to patients who are terminally ill, with less than a year left in life expectancy, or if the healthcare practitioner deemed that the patient’s medical condition requires a higher dosage for treatment.

IAC 641-154 states that licensed medical cannabis dispensaries are prohibited from selling edible medical cannabis products and any form of medical cannabis for smoking. They are allowed to sell other oral, inhalable, and topical forms of medical cannabis, with the following included, among others:

• Tinctures
• Liquids
• Tablets
• Capsules
• Sublingual products
• Vaping products
• Nebulizable products
• Transdermal patches
• Suppositories
• Lotions
• Creams
• Ointments
• Gels

The licensed medical cannabis dispensary staff must do the following when making a sale:

• Ensure that the purchaser’s identity matches that of the purchaser’s valid government-issued ID and medical cannabis card.
• Ensure that the purchaser’s medical cannabis card is valid and current on the online registry.
• Ensure that the medical cannabis and medical cannabis products to be purchased do not exceed the particular patient’s limits based on the medical cannabis cardholder’s previous purchases recorded on the online registry.
• Ensure that a unique tracking number is assigned to every medical cannabis item and medical cannabis product to be sold.
• Ensure that the unique tracking number and the patient’s registration number are written on the label of every medical cannabis item and medical cannabis product to be sold.
• Ensure that every medical cannabis item and medical cannabis product to be sold includes another label or insert containing the dispensary’s name and address, the date and time of purchase, and instructions for the product’s usage.
• Ensure that no misleading, false, or unsubstantiated claims are made on the package, label, or insertion.
• Ensure that within the same business day, the licensed dispensary’s sales and inventory tracking system is updated with every purchase, including the medical cannabis cardholder’s name, the time and date of the purchase, the quantity and prices of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products purchased, each item’s unique tracking number, and other relevant information.

Is Cannabis Delivery Legal in Black Hawk County?

The delivery of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products is not allowed in Black Hawk County by the State of Iowa’s Code Chapter 124E even to medical cannabis cardholders. Only licensed medical cannabis manufacturers are allowed to deliver medical cannabis and medical cannabis products among themselves and to licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, testing laboratories, and the appropriate facilities for cannabis waste disposal. Licensed medical cannabis dispensaries are prohibited from transporting medical cannabis and medical cannabis products.

How to Get a Medical Marijuana Card in Black Hawk County

Residents of Black Hawk County who want medical cannabis treatment will learn much from the Information for Patients About Medical Cannabidiol in Iowa before applying for a medical cannabis card.

A patient must take a printout of the Healthcare Practitioner Certification (HCPC) Form to a state-licensed medical or osteopathic doctor or surgeon, physician assistant, advanced registered nurse practitioner, advanced practice registered nurse, or podiatrist. The practitioner will sign the form if the patient has any of the qualifying ailments, as follows:

• Cancer accompanied by any of these:
  • Chronic pain
  • Severe pain
  • Severe vomiting
  • Nausea
  • Severe wasting
  • Cachexia
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Severe intractable autism with aggressive or self-injurious behavior
• Ulcerative colitis
• Severe and persistent muscle spasms from multiple sclerosis
• Chronic pain
• Corticobasal degeneration
• AIDS
• HIV
• Seizures
• Parkinson’s disease
• Crohn’s disease
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Any terminal illness with a life expectancy of less than a year and accompanied by any of these:
  • Chronic pain
  • Severe pain
  • Severe vomiting
  • Nausea
  • Severe wasting
  • Cachexia

A patient above 18 years old must create a new patient account on the online patient portal where the Adult Patient Application must be completed. A scanned copy or digital photo of the HCPC Form and a valid state photo ID must be uploaded. The online payment of $100 may be reduced to $25 upon uploading a scanned copy or digital photo of any of the following:

• Receipt for a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Payment
• Hawk-I Membership Card
• Iowa Medicaid Membership Card
• Notice for Social Security Disability (SSDI) Benefits

Patients below 18 years old and adult patients requiring assistance must be registered by a caregiver through the online caregiver portal where the Caregiver Application must be completed. All digital documents to be uploaded must be the caregiver’s, except for the patient’s HCPC Form.

A temporary card will be sent through the email address provided by applicants, which may be printed and used while awaiting the actual medical cannabis card which will arrive by mail.

The public may contact the following for queries:

Bureau of Cannabis Regulation

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services

Lucas State Office Building

ATTN: BCR

321 E. 12th St.

Des Moines, IA 50319

Email: medical.cannabidiol@idph.iowa.gov

Phone: 877-214-9313

How Has Cannabis Legalization Impacted the Economy of Black Hawk County?

The Iowa Department of Revenue reports that the State of Iowa imposes a tax of $750 on each medical cannabis plant and $5 on every gram of medical cannabis products.

According to the May 2023 update on the Medical Cannabis Program Data and Statistics Page, total sales of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products from June 2022 to May 2023 at licensed dispensaries amounted to $12,945,283, excluding taxes.

The Effects of Cannabis Legalization on Crime Rates in Black Hawk County

Medical cannabis was legalized in Black Hawk County in 2017.

Data sent by the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office to the Crime Explorer page of the FBI shows that in 2016, a year before the legalization of medical cannabis, there were 45 marijuana possession arrests and 18 marijuana sales arrests, totaling 63 marijuana offense arrests.

In 2018, a year after the legalization of medical cannabis, there were 65 marijuana possession arrests and six marijuana sales arrests, totaling 71 marijuana offense arrests.

In 2021, the latest available data showed 97 marijuana possession arrests and five marijuana sales arrests, totaling 102 marijuana offense arrests.

In those years, the number of DUI arrests was as follows:

• 2016: 93 arrests
• 2018: 74 arrests
• 2021: 289 arrests