By Mindy Ragan Wood, Staff Writer – As the election to legalize medical marijuana looms near, lawmakers are scrambling to pass a companion bill that would provide regulations.
State Question 788 would allow users with a state registered medical card to obtain a recommendation by their doctor for medical marijuana use. Patients could have up to three ounces on their person and keep six marijuana plants, 72 ounces of the edible substance and eight ounces in their home.
Canadian County Sheriff Chris West said the bill isn’t what it seems.
“I’m not against medical marijuana, but I am against SQ 788 because of the way it’s written. It’s been so loosely written to protect people who want to smoke marijuana. This is recreational use with a medical label on it,” West said.
It would allow anyone, regardless of any diagnosis by a doctor to obtain marijuana by their clinician’s recommendation. Doctors cannot prescribe, only recommend, cannabis because it is not an FDA approved drug. Patients would have to obtain a state registered medical card from their physician showing they can obtain it for medicinal uses, but they do not have to be diagnosed with any disease or specific illness.
“This is about getting high. This is not about medicine,” West said.
The Oklahoma State Medical Association has been quoted in previous news reports stating the OSMA does not support SQ 788, along with the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council, religious groups and law enforcement officials.
With all the critics, supporters say opponents are jumping to conclusions. Norma Sapp, director of the Oklahoma chapter for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said the “loosely” written language protects patients. She addressed critics’ concerns that doctors could provide access to marijuana without qualifying medical conditions.
“It leaves it open between the doctor and the patient,” Sapp said. “In Colorado they had pre-qualifying conditions and when a doctor had a patient with a rare condition not on the list (of conditions) they couldn’t check any of those boxes on the form and the patient can’t get the treatment.”
Critics are concerned SQ 788 also ties employer’s hands by not allowing the termination of an employee for using cannabis. Sapp said again, there is a misunderstanding of the language.
“It does say if you’re using it for medical marijuana, you cannot be fired for that,” she said.
If passed, employers can penalize an employee for possessing or using it while at work. Parents using marijuana products could not be denied parental rights and landlords could not evict someone unless they violated a non-smoking agreement in the home.
State Representative John Paul Jordan (R-Yukon) said he is not for or against medical marijuana, but if legalized by the will of the people, the state needs to be ready for it. He has authored House Bill 3468 which would provide public safety and security protocols and establishes a state agency to monitor cannabis production and dispensaries.
“If voters choose to pass 788 then they’ll expect to have a clean product to be used for medicine,” Jordan said. “What I’ve done is look at other states to see how they’re doing this.”
Legalized medical marijuana will including growing, harvesting, processing and distributing the products to dispensaries. Jordan said without responsible regulations, a lot can go wrong along the way.
“Processing the chemical compounds of marijuana has the potential to be twice as volatile as meth labs. One of the problems Colorado has seen with home extractions, which is people who are not professionals, they’re blowing up not only their house but their neighbor’s house. My bill puts extraction to a closed loop system so there’s no noxious gas in the air. It will be a professional doing it and it has to be inspected by a fire marshal,” he said.
Even with regulations, West has lingering concerns. He returned from a recent conference and listened to sheriffs from other states who have legalized medical and recreational cannabis use.
“A five-year impact study that Colorado did showed a significant increase in (vehicle) crashes and marijuana use fatality crashes. The other thing is that because it still violates a federal law, dispensaries can’t deposit their money in a FDIC insured bank, so the potential for money laundering is huge,” West said. “And corruption. Their corruption is on steroids compared to before it was legalized.”
West pointed to findings in a pamphlet at the conference, Real Marijuana Facts, which is based on data provided by a drug testing company and Colorado state agencies. The information was compiled by Jo McGuire who serves on the board of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association and was appointed to serve on Colorado governor’s task force.
“Ten out of 12 employees failed a drug test,” West said based on the findings. “In Denver, there are twice as many marijuana stores than Starbucks and McDonalds.”
The pamphlet shows that THC positive drug tests tripled and 138 percent increase in hospitalized children ages birth to five who had been exposed to marijuana.
Colorado legalized recreational use in 2012, while SQ 788 would only promise medical use, but West said that’s just one giant step toward recreational cannabis.
“That’s what proponents of SQ 788 want here. This is an incremental approach.”
Sapp says it’s the patients who matter in this argument most and the legalization of a substance to treat their illnesses. She said the American government has been lying to its citizens about the medicinal uses of marijuana for decades.
“We all have a cannabinoid receptor. Unless you have that in your diet or system somehow then you’re not functioning at your complete immune system. A long time ago before our laws changed we had it in our system by what we ate. If your cows eat it, you get cannabinoids in your system. We’re becoming more aware of what it can do. As we explore more in science of all the cannabinoids uses, there will be designer plants to help facilitate your health,” she said.
The election for SQ 788 is June 26. HB 3468 passed the House of Representatives and has advanced to the Senate.
During the last two legislative sessions, lawmakers have passed two versions of a CBD bill that allows its use for various medical conditions, including epilepsy. The first bill signed by Gov. Mary Fallin in 2016 allows children to use CBD oil for medical conditions. In 2017, a similar bill was passed by the legislature allowing CBD use by adults.
The CBD oil cannot have more than .03 percent THC, according to the two statutes.
