Within 30 days, Governor Fallin has signed two sets of rules for medical marijuana in Oklahoma. Last week, with no public discussion, the Oklahoma State Board of Health replaced its previous rules that had last minute amendments which favorited the demands of the Oklahoma State Medical Association and the former director of the Board of Pharmacy.
The new set of rules eliminates the prohibition of smokable forms of cannabis, lifts the requirement to having a pharmacist on duty at dispensaries, stopped requiring women of child baring years from getting a pregnancy test before receiving a recommendation for medical marijuana from a physician and removed the limits on THC content.
Fallin signed those rules into play on Monday.
“These rules are very basic, and represent the best option in developing a proper regulatory framework for medical marijuana, with the highest priority given to the health and safety of Oklahomans. These rules do not include the two last-minute amendments to the initial rules that I asked the Board of Health to rescind because the public didn’t have sufficient time to review and comment on them. I appreciate the board’s decision to concur with my request. They also follow the guidelines from the attorney general on staying within the jurisdiction of statute language of State Question 788.
“My approval of these rules moves medical marijuana to the realm of our Legislature. I’m glad the Legislature has a bipartisan group meeting weekly to move the state forward in developing the intent of what the public voted for with the passage of State Question 788 – making marijuana available to Oklahomans who need it solely for medical reasons. There are many opinions on how medical marijuana should be implemented in our state. I encourage vivid discussion to develop policy proposals to make sure we have a medical marijuana regulatory framework in place that improves the health of Oklahomans who are sick and makes the business side work while protecting the safety of Oklahomans.”
The Legislature has formed a bi-cameral medical marijuana working group. It has already begun hearings into what is needed to make sure the will of the voters is followed while putting more effective language into place to regulate the industry.
