| Oklahomans have spoken loudly this week. The political earthquake in the 'reddest of red states' told Lincoln Blvd that some major changes are going to happen. Drug policy is one such mandated change. The people have said that the medicinal potential of Cannabis will be readily available to patients whose physicians direct such treatment. The newly audited Oklahoma Health Dept. is rolling out their first mission objective since going through a thorough investigation of their leadership. The state agency has their 3rd new commissioner in less than a year. the finances have been audited and the whole department faced a months-long grand jury process. The new Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) will hold a public meeting on July 10th, to potentially make radical changes to the voters' initiative. These new members of the OMMA are not elected leaders. They are appointed by the governor as well as other boards, agencies, and authorities. |  |
The OMMA already created a working draft of emergency rules that they may formally adopt on July 10th. They include;
- a delay in treatment. Ill people with all the proper documentation will still be told to wait until August 25th, to avoid being arrested for taking their directed medical treatment and restoring their lives and livelihood.
- Doctors of Chiropractic, Doctors of Optometry, and Dentistry are being banned from treating patients with Cannabis medicines. Glaucoma is one of the most clearly established conditions which Cannabis effectively treats, but your eye doctor is now being deemed useless by the health dept. Oklahoma law defines a “state licensed physician” to include a medical doctor(MD), osteopath(DO), dentist(DDS, DMD), optometrist(OD), chiropractor(DC) or podiatrist(DPM).
- The licensing process is similar to that of seeking a federal passport, and several documentation rules will apply. Both residency and identity must be established.
- Doctors directing cannabis treatment cannot also be a cannabis patient or caregiver.
- A variance hearing process for use of product in ways that otherwise are not lawful.
- Growing Cannabis for patient's own use must be done indoors or inside a locked privacy fenced area that patient owns or rents (with written permission of owner).
- The Oklahoma Tax Commission will have a special form for reporting monthly sales tax at dispensaries.
- Cannabis medicines not used by the licensed patient must be destroyed or surrendered to law enforcement when the license expires.
- Licensed commercial producers must be completely indoor secured, surveilled operations.
- No ingestible cannabis processed edibles may be packaged to resemble a candy, gummy, or other child treat.
- The OMMA will dictate which laboratories that the producers must use for mandatory testing of products. Every 'batch' of product must be tested and approved by an authorized testing laboratory.
- There is an online form that the public can use, to submit input on these proposed rules. It is recommended that patients anticipating a personal usefulness of cannabis medicine, study these rules and discuss them with other patients & advocates.
Here's the press statement from the OMMA:
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