22 new bills could change Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry.
22 new bills could change Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry.
22 new bills could change Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry.
In just weeks, Oklahoma lawmakers will convene to consider 3,052 new bills that could become law.
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Among those, 22 bills could change Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry.
Some of those who would be impacted by those changes have concerns.
“It was passed by the voters. We respect the will of the voters. We’re just trying to find a way to make it work best for Oklahoma,” said Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton.
Since medical marijuana was legalized in Oklahoma in 2018, lawmakers have been tweaking how the industry runs in our state.
This year will be no exception.
One new bill from Paxton would increase the distance between schools and medical marijuana dispensaries.
“People call you and say, ‘Hey, my kids walk from one school to another, and they have to walk by a dispensary.’ So, just concerns that are out there,” Paxton said.
But the question is, would already-established dispensaries be told they have to pack up and move?
“When SQ88 passed, the legislature had 60 days to implement rules. It really wasn’t enough time to figure everything out. We really don’t like to pull the rug out from underneath a business, so we’re going to have discussions with the industry and find the best way forward,” Paxton said.
A local dispensary owner told KOCO 5 that he is fine with some bills, like Paxton’s, but others cause concern.
Other proposed bills include one that would restrict advertising like inflatables and flashing signs at dispensaries that the bill’s author said target children.
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“Pharmacies don’t use tube men or flashing signs to advertise oxycodone or other serious medications. I don’t think dispensaries should either,” said state Rep. Dusty Deevers.
“When they see a tube man in front of a car dealership, their first reaction isn’t, ‘Mommy, let me go buy a car.’ They just see the tube man. It doesn’t necessarily bring attention to the products sold inside the store, it just more so brings attention to that there is a store there,” said Corbin Wyatt, owner of Likewise Cannabis.
Another bill would limit how much marijuana someone could buy in a week to 2.5 ounces, or almost 70 grams.
“There are a lot of patients that are genuinely concerned about that because they might be utilizing more than that in a week, and that is severely going to limit their ability to medicate using cannabis,” Wyatt said.
The legislature is back in session in February.
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