Iowa Code chapter 124E is the Medical Cannabidiol Act. Iowa Health and Human Services administers registration cards and licensed dispensaries.
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Laws and local rules change. Read the official sources at the bottom of this page.
Cannabis-friendly lawyers in Iowa
Listed October 2026
These firms and attorneys are listed in the NORML lawyer directory for Iowa. Cities and phone numbers below are taken from those listings.
Criminal defense and individual help
Angela Reyes Law NORML directory
Angela Reyes · Davenport
Listed in the NORML lawyer directory for Iowa as a criminal defense and marijuana lawyer in Davenport.
Source: NORML listing
Stowers & Nelsen PLC NORML directory
Dean A Stowers · West Des Moines
Listed in the NORML lawyer directory for Iowa as a criminal defense and marijuana lawyer in West Des Moines.
Source: NORML listing
Criminal defense
These lawyers defend cannabis and marijuana charges in Iowa.
Joseph P. Vogel
Des Moines
I have a strong track record achieving favorable results in defense of Iowans charged with marijuana crimes.
McCarthy & Hamrock, P.C.
West Des Moines
Have a Des Moines marijuana possession lawyer from McCarthy & Hamrock, P.C. fight for your rights.
Starting a cannabis business
These lawyers help with licensing, forming a company, and compliance for a cannabis business in Iowa.
BrownWinick Law Firm
Des Moines
In the cannabis industry, there is no line between legal decisions and business decisions.
Not a referral. This list is not an endorsement, and there is no paid placement. We have not verified bar standing or discipline history. Before you hire anyone, confirm them through the Iowa State Bar Association.
Store map
- Medical dispensaries are on the map. A medical card is required. No adult-use stores in Iowa yet.
Registration and products
- The chapter is cited as the Medical Cannabidiol Act.
- The department may issue a registration card to a patient who is at least 18, is a permanent resident of Iowa, and submits a written certification that the patient has a debilitating medical condition.
- The department's law-enforcement page says the act was signed in May 2017, that licensed dispensaries began providing products on December 1, 2018, and that the program authorizes products that contain both CBD and THC.
- That page says registered patients and caregivers may possess the forms listed in rule 641 IAC 154.14, including vaporizable, oral, topical, nebulizable, and suppository forms.
- Section 124E.17 is titled as a prohibition on smoking medical cannabidiol.