Oklahoma City, OK: State health regulators voted 5 to 4 this week in favor of emergency regulations significantly amending State Question 788 – the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis access law.
Regulatory changes include: prohibiting the sale of herbal cannabis at licensed dispensaries; requiring dispensaries to have a licensed pharmacist on staff; imposing THC potency thresholds on various cannabis-infused products; and mandating that dispensary managers obtain at least four hours of continuing education training each calendar year. The Oklahoma State Medical Association, which opposed the passage of SQ 788, lobbied for many of the amendments. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, who also campaigned against SQ 788, signed the regulations into law on Wednesday.
Qualified patients will still be permitted to grow their own medical marijuana flowers.
Proponents of SQ 788 opine that many of the changes violate the spirit of law, and they indicate that they will likely pursue legal actions. Activists are also in the process of gathering signatures to place a broader, adult use legalization measure on the 2018 ballot.
NORML has long argued that patients should not be limited solely to non-inhalable forms of cannabis because these alternative formulations possess delayed onset and their effects are far less predictable than those of herbal cannabis.
For more information, contact Justin Strekal, NORML Political Director, at (202) 483-5500.