Iowa’s Five Medical Cannabis Dispensaries

Last verified: April 2026

The Two Licensed Manufacturers

Bud & Mary’s Cannabis Co. (formerly MedPharm Iowa LLC) is owned by Dr. Chris Nelson, also president and CEO of Kemin Industries, with Lucas Nelson as Group President. The company’s manufacturing facility is on the east side of Des Moines; a $10 million expansion announced in June 2022 tripled cultivation and production capacity. The MedPharm Iowa name was changed to Bud & Mary’s effective June 3, 2022, reflecting the company’s expansion into Colorado and Michigan recreational markets.

Iowa Cannabis Company operates as Iowa Wholesale OZB, LLC and Iowa Cannabis Company, Inc., with a manufacturing license for an Iowa City production facility (originally licensed for Cedar Rapids, then relocated). Its product line came online in 2024, ending a multi-year period in which Bud & Mary’s was effectively the sole supplier of the Iowa medical market.

Both manufacturers are vertically integrated: cultivation, processing, and dispensing are owned and operated under the same corporate umbrella.

The Five Dispensary Locations (April 2026)

Per the Iowa HHS dispensary directory, the five operational dispensaries are:

The 5-dispensary count reflects HF 2589 (2020) authorization. Hours generally run Monday–Saturday 9 a.m.–8 p.m., with Sundays typically closed; verify each location’s posted hours before traveling.

Iowa Code §124E.8 caps the medical cannabidiol program at five dispensaries and two manufacturers statewide. The five operational dispensaries as of April 2026 are listed in the Iowa HHS Office of Medical Cannabidiol dispensary directory.

Iowa Code §124E.8; Iowa HHS Office of Medical Cannabidiol

Notable Absences

• No dispensary in Davenport — Iowa’s third-largest city and the eastern Iowa population center. Have A Heart Compassionate Care had operated a Davenport dispensary, but it closed in March 2020. Quad Cities Iowa-side patients drive ~55 miles west on I-80 to the Iowa City dispensary, or roughly 80–85 miles northwest to Waterloo.
• No dispensary in Cedar Rapids — Iowa’s second-largest city. Cedar Rapids was supposed to host Iowa’s second manufacturing facility (Iowa Relief), but it closed in 2020 after barely a year. Patients drive ~28 miles south to Iowa City or ~85 miles east to Waterloo.
• No dispensary in Dubuque — the river city patients can practically see East Dubuque, Illinois (multiple Illinois recreational dispensaries) from the Iowa side of the Mississippi.

Patients in Iowa City’s broader catchment can drive 2+ hours each way to reach a dispensary. The geographic concentration of dispensaries in Des Moines, Sioux City, Waterloo, Iowa City, and Council Bluffs leaves significant rural and northeastern Iowa coverage gaps.

Patient Flow and the Cross-River Dynamic

Iowa Cannabis Company East in Iowa City partially fills the eastern Iowa gap, but for Davenport-area patients, an Illinois recreational dispensary across the Centennial Bridge in Rock Island or Moline is dramatically closer than any Iowa option. Iowa medical card holders can possess Iowa-form product purchased in Iowa, but cannot purchase recreational product in Illinois without paying Illinois taxes — and they cannot legally transport that product back across the Mississippi (Federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. §841).

Operational Realities at Every Iowa Dispensary

• No walk-ins. All five dispensaries require an active medical cannabidiol registration card issued by Iowa HHS. Online ordering for in-store pickup is permitted under 641 IAC 154.41(2), which prohibits any form of off-site delivery.
• Cash and debit only. Federal banking restrictions prevent credit-card processing. Most dispensaries accept cash and debit; some have on-site ATMs.
• Pharmacist consultation. Every dispensary visit involves a brief pharmacist or pharmacy technician consultation — required by HF 2589 and 641 IAC 154.46.
• Patient ID scan. Staff scan the patient’s medical card and verify the 90-day rolling THC purchase total in the secure tracking system. The system enforces the 4.5-g cap automatically; sales above the cap (or above the patient’s waivered amount) are blocked at point of sale.
• No on-site consumption (Iowa Code §124E.9), and dispensaries cannot be located within 1,000 feet of a school (§124E.8).
• No interstate shipping. Federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits all interstate cannabis transport; Iowa dispensaries do not ship anywhere.

Cross-River Border Dispensaries

Bud & Mary’s Council Bluffs serves western Iowa and absorbs some Omaha-area Iowa-resident traffic. Iowa Cannabis Company West (Council Bluffs) sits in the same metro. Bud & Mary’s Sioux City serves the Iowa-Nebraska-South Dakota tri-state region. The Davenport (Quad Cities) dispensary gap means patients on the eastern border face the most acute dispensary access shortfall in the state.

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