AG Says Board of Health Overstepped Authority

7/18/2018

Attorney General, Mike Hunter, released his legal opinion on the actions of the Oklahoma Board of Health, today. In this advisory opinion, Hunter takes issue with many actions of the board members and the staff who created many extra rules which go beyond the scope that the agency is empowered to create for the governor's enactment.
Hunter's statements also indicate his opinion that the governor should not have enacted these extra obstacles to what the people of Oklahoma had the sovereign power to legalize.
The first issue addressed by Hunter was the ban imposed on 'smokable' products at dispensaries. He says it contradicts the language of the statutes which the voters passed.
"First, the Board improperly limits and prohibits the sale of edible, smokable, vapable, and other forms of marijuana. OAC 310:681-2-11. The text of SQ 788 authorizes the cultivation, processing, sale, and use of "marijuana" in general terms, with few limitations on its form."

The attorney general's office also said that they took issue with the board's action to require dispensaries to hire a pharmacist.

"The board has not been given any express or implied statutory authority to impose additional requirements on licensees. Thus, the board rules improperly require every licensed dispensary to have 'a current licensed pharmacist' present 'on-site at least 40 hours per week.' Nothing in the text of State Question 788 expressly or impliedly authorizes this rule,” Hunter said.
Other items addressed include:

Restricting dispensaries to limited locations
Prohibiting dispensaries from co-locating with other businesses
Requiring medical marijuana be grown, processed and dispensed in enclosed structures
Requiring a surety bond for licensing
Setting hours of operation
Limiting the amount of THC in flower, leaf or concentrate for sale or distribution.

Here's the full text of the Attorney General's opinion..

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