Cannabis has become legal in Oklahoma in the recent past and many patients have benefited from the same while many business ventures have emerged. But, similar to medical marijuana, the legal aspect of cannabis use is not very straightforward and in fact may be somewhat difficult to determine at times. Read on to learn some of the Oklahoma medical marijuana laws and feel free to share this article with patients or businesses.
Entitlement of Medical Marijuana in Oklahoma: A Primer
In June 2018, Oklahomans voted positively in State Question 788 thereby making the use of Medical Marijuana legal for the patients with the required license. Compared to the other states, which have put various conditions under which a physician can prescribe medical marijuana, Oklahoma’s law is far more liberal as it only requires the physician to think that the patient would benefit from the use of medical marijuana attorneys. Their general strategy of investment in this and some other industries has greatly promoted the state’s development of medical marijuana market.
Medical marijuana use in Oklahoma can only be done legally if the patient has a license for medical marijuana from OMMA. This license allows patients to obtain, possess and cultivate marijuana to prescribed legal standard in the state.
Ownership and Cultivation Restriction
Under Oklahoma law, patients with a valid medical marijuana license are allowed to possess:
Possession in their person up to 3 ounces of marijuana.
Except for medicinal usage, two ounces of marijuana in the house.
Up to 1 ounce or 28. 35 grams of concentrated marijuana.
Up to 72 ounces of edible marijuana products.
Six mature marijuana plants.
Six seedling plants.
These limits are firmly policed and going over them can lead to legal repercussions – fines and in some cases even imprisonment.
Compliance Related to Medical Marijuana Business
Failure to meet these requirements is a big no for any business which is involved in the Oklahoma medical marijuana sector. The OMMA is responsible for regulating license issues for the operations such as dispensaries, growers, processors amongst others transporters. All these businesses hold some specific standards to be complied with such as the security features, product testing, and labeling standards.
Of particular interest in compliance is the testing policies and procedures to guarantee that all products if not each complies with the testing standards of the state. This includes testing for pesticides, heavy metals, and mold among others in an endeavor to reduce on their incidences. The following penalties are associated with failure to adhere to these standards: product recall, fines, and suspension of licenses or their revocation.
The Place of Local Authorities
However, it also important for the reader to understand that state of Oklahoma has set up the basic structure of how the medical marijuana industry will operate in the state and yet the local governments can also greatly influence the operations of the industry. Counties are empowered to devise additional zoning controls and more business ordinances. For instance, certain measures may restrict the siting of the dispensary or may prescribe special measures of security for the place.
It is therefore mandatory for any business to be acquainted with state as well as county regulations so as to maximize on compliance. This is where getting assistance from experts in the marijuana law can be useful to the users. As indicated, knowing these peculiarities may assist a business entity to minimize the costs, related to legal regulation and ensure successful functioning.
Challenges and Legal Considerations
Even so, there are those barriers and other legal concerns for patients and companies regarding the medical marijuana in Oklahoma. The first of which is the perennial problem of state law versus federal law. Currently, marijuana is legal for medical use in Oklahoma, however, it illegal under federal law. It opens up potential risks – most evident in banking and taxation.
For instance, most banks do not accept marijuana-related business transactions because of federal legislation a problem that challenges these businesses. Like all the state laws, federal tax laws also bar normal business expensing for activities related to the marijuana business resulting to increased tax amounts.
Another factor that has to be looked to is employment legislation. The medical marijuana law in Oklahoma allows employers to affirmatively require drug-free workplaces, which implies that an otherwise lawfully possessory licensee may be fired for a THC-positive test. Among these are rights and responsibilities that are accorded the employees and the employers as provided for in the law.
Conclusion
New opportunities which Oklahoma’s medical marijuana laws provide the patients and businessmen also mean new legal issues. This is true for anyone be it a patient in search of medical treatment and a business needing to understand the legal side of healthcare industry.
However, if you need help to deal with these issues elaborated in this article, it is always a good practice to seek professional help from people who specialized on this. Legal education as it applies to the MM industry affects everyone involved in the field as they must be aware of the existing legal matters so as to avoid legal entanglements.
The Additional Information to acquire more information on legal services concerning medical marijuana is the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Attorneys website that will engage the services of marijuana attorneys for the same.