Marijuana working group to consider `unity proposal'
A meeting of the legislative working group on medical marijuana is scheduled for Wednesday to discuss a “unity proposal” that will address several outstanding issues. The proposal would provide guidelines and regulations for the state's rapidly growing industry. Among the topics included are: the testing of THC levels within products; proper labeling of medical marijuana products; and employment-related issues for medical marijuana patients within the state, Sen. Greg McCortney said. Lawmakers want those issues addressed quickly, he said. “There's a very real hope the governor would sign those issues into law before the end of February,” McCortney, co-chairman of the working group, said this week. “I think there is definite agreement across the board that these are issues that need to be solved, and they need to be solved quickly.” If passed, the proposal could become the baseline for future changes to state medical marijuana laws, he said. Medical marijuana was legalized when voters approved State Question 788 in 2018. Dispensaries, grow-houses and other operations have grown like weeds throughout the state since SQ788's passage, but little regulatory language was included in the state question. Legislators have filed more than a dozen bills related to medical marijuana regulation. Senate Bill 755 addresses advertising issues and SB 756 calls for childresistant packaging for medical marijuana products. Both were drafted by McCortney. Senate bills 760 and 763 offer physicians the ability to issue a short-term license and set monthly limits for a patient. Senate Bill 764 calls for a medical marijuana use registry, compliant with HIPAA standards, that would allow physicians the ability to see if their patients were prescribed medical marijuana by another physician. “It's basically the exact same thing we do for opioids,” McCortney said. “A lot of doctors aren't writing medical marijuana so you've got a patient who's driving to another doctor for a medical marijuana license … and their doctor back home doesn't even know they're taking medical marijuana.” SB 768 calls for a THC testing program, but McCortney said there will be difficulties in practical implementation. Facilities will need to be installed within the state to accommodate testing programs. “Now that people of Oklahoma have said, `Absolutely we want access to medical marijuana,' I think it's our job to make it happen,” he said. “I'm looking forward to working with my colleagues to finalize this first step at ensuring that everyone who needs medical marijuana will have good access to safe medication,” McCortney said.