200,000 medical marijuana patients now licensed in Oklahoma: What do you need to know?
For more than a year, the legality of Oklahoma’s medical cannabis program rested on the text of SQ788 and emergency rules approved by state agencies. But an extensive regulatory framework known as the “Unity Bill,” and accompanying bills, went into effect in summer 2019, creating new requirements for patients and business owners.
HB 2612 was largely the product of three months of meetings between industry members, advocates and a bipartisan, bicameral medical marijuana legislative working group. House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, was a primary sponsor, as was Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, working group co-chairman.
With medical marijuana legal in Oklahoma, a lot of people with no cannabis experience are wondering about the basics.
Dozens of municipalities across the state have put in place local ordinances that would regulate medical marijuana in the months since SQ788 passed with 57% support.
When city councilors in Pawhuska met to discuss its proposed ordinance, which included “a number of places that you could not grow, sell, wholesale … that was what you would see is the Broken Arrow approach,” city attorney John Heskett told councilors. “And they got sued for that.” The ordinance councilors ended up voting on was a less restrictive ordinance that would do little more than align city code with state law.
Many city governments have tried to adopt only limited regulations. However, some smaller municipalities across the state have taken a hardline approach and outright banned most commercial marijuana operations within their cities.
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Originally published at https://www.tulsaworld.com on October 15, 2019.
