Lack of leadership seen after pot vote

OKLAHOMA’s legislative leaders are taking a hands-off approach to the regulations related to medical marijuana. This is highly disappointing, but comes as no real surprise given their reluctance to deal with this issue all along.

The push for medical marijuana in Oklahoma didn’t happen overnight. It’s been building for years, as supporters worked to secure enough signatures to send the issue to voters. It took a few tries before the signature threshold was met.

The Legislature could have made an initiative petition effort moot by crafting a medical marijuana law of its own, designed in a way that provided for true medical marijuana. It opted not to. The result of the initiative petition was a state question whose language was so broad that what was advertised as medical marijuana was essentially recreational marijuana.

When concerns were raised by the business community, physicians and others, supporters of State Question 788 often replied that because the proposal was statutory, the various provisions could be revised by the Legislature — and, they expected they would be.

SQ 788 won 57 percent approval in the June 26 primary elections. The next day, a medical cannabis clinic opened in Tulsa, and as the Tulsa World reported, many of those who showed up assumed they could obtain the product there.

Instead, they were told they would be charged $250 for an initial appointment and a follow-up, with the fee getting them access to a doctor who could potentially recommend medical marijuana. The arrangement prompted the head of a trade group that supported SQ 788 to issue a warning about sham clinics popping up.

“We need legislative action to ensure that State Question 788 is responsibly implemented,” said Bud Scott, executive director of New Health Solutions Oklahoma. “Issues like testing for quality control and transparency in financing need to be addressed in this industry, just like they are in others.”

That apparently won’t happen any time soon. In advance of the vote on SQ 788, Gov. Mary Fallin said a special session was likely to ensure practical implementation of the law. Her spokesman said Fallin was concerned the state wouldn’t be able to have a system up and running within 30 days, as called for in 788.

Two days after the election, however, Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, who holds a top leadership post, said legislative leaders were OK with letting the state Health Department handle regulations. Echols noted members’ concerns about efforts to “monkey around” with the thrust of SQ 788.

Fallin followed suit Friday, saying there would be no special session. The Health Department has been working on emergency rules for months, she said, and if problems arise, the Legislature can deal with them next year during the regular session.

The Health Department is trying to recover from the departure of roughly 400 employees in the past six months. About half were let go — unnecessarily, as it turned out — amid a financial crisis, and the others left on their own during the turmoil. Now, in addition to its other myriad duties, the shorthanded agency must implement SQ 788 and all it comprises?

Forgoing a special session, Scott says, “is not a victory for medical cannabis; it is a failure of leadership.” He’s right. Sadly, Oklahomans have become all too familiar with that.