Finding Relief: Your Guide to Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Laws
Finding Relief: Your Guide to Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Laws
Thinking about getting a prescription for marijuana in Oklahoma? We can help you get sorted. Read on to learn about Oklahoma medical marijuana laws.
Keyword(s): oklahoma medical marijuana laws
On June 26, 2018, Oklahoma became one of the forty-one states that legalized marijuana in one form or another.
The Oklahoma medical marijuana law came with restrictions, though. Read on to learn all that you need to know about the laws now known as OMMA laws.
OMMA History
OMMA stands for Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. The Oklahoma legislature saw fit to develop this branch of its government to oversee medical marijuana licensure.
When Oklahoma passed their weed laws, their state government anticipated approximately 2 percent of the population, or 80,00 people, would apply for a license to possess medical marijuana.
As of October 2019, over 200,000 patients have registered for a license. Additionally, OMMA has issued 7,000 business licenses.
Furthermore, medical marijuana has generated over $30 million in tax revenue for Oklahoma since its inception. Needless to say, the marijuana business has benefitted the state.
What Are Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Laws?
Oklahoma saw fit to establish specific laws for their medical marijuana. They knew that legalizing marijuana meant regulating a new substance as well. The result of their work is what people call the most progressive medical marijuana laws in the United States.
Possession
Oklahoma weed laws limit the amount of marijuana a licensed patient may possess. For example, you may possess three ounces of marijuana on your person.
You may also grow marijuana at home legally. If you have a license, you may have six mature marijuana plants and six seedling plants. You may also have 72 ounces of edible marijuana and eight ounces of marijuana at home.
The three-ounce limit applies only to how much you can have in your possession when you are not at home.
Other states call the OMMA laws progressive because of these liberal limits. The possession limits in Oklahoma are 6.5 times the felony limit in Colorado. In other words, if you’re carrying the same amount in Colorado of what you can legally carry in Oklahoma, you will receive a felony charge for drug possession.
Cost and Licenses
The state of Oklahoma benefits from the laws through the licensing process. A patient license costs $100 per patient. If a patient is on Medicaid, the license will cost $42.
Patients and physicians alike are taking time to learn about cannabis. The sheer quantity of licenses indicates the interest and need in Oklahoma
Caregiver License
OMMA laws allow caregivers to have a license so they can administer marijuana to their homebound patients. Anyone from parents caring for young children at home to a caregiver helping an elderly patient can now administer marijuana to help their charge.
The law allows caregivers to have an unspecified number of patients. So if a caregiver has 10 patients, he or she could grow up to 120 plants.
Caregivers also do not have to do their own applications. Patients need only to put their caregivers’ name down on the application website. Then the caregiver can possess all the medical marijuana a patient could legally possess.
A caregiver license costs nothing.
Dispensary License
Dispensary licenses cost $2,500.
Dispensary licenses have an additional requirement. At least 75 percent of a dispensary must be owned by an Oklahoman resident. And these Oklahomans must have a residency status of at least two years.
Processor License
Processing is different than dispensing. Because of the safety nature of the processing, this license has the most regulations.
Oklahoma created the Food Safety Standards Board to oversee marijuana being converted into an edible form. So processors are subject to the same laws as any company producing food in Oklahoma.
A processor license costs $2,500.
Commercial Grower License
Commercial growers also have a license fee. If you want to grow marijuana commercially in Oklahoma, you have to pay $2,500. As a comparison, a commercial grower license will cost you $100,000 in Arkansas plus a $500,000 performance bond.
Oklahoma has no limit on how much marijuana a commercial grower may grow.
Weed at Work
OMMA laws also protect employees who have medical marijuana licenses. The law says that an employer cannot take action against a person because he holds a medical marijuana license. The employer cannot fire or suspend an employee if his drug tests indicate he has marijuana in his system.
The law does not allow a worker to have marijuana in his possession at work, though. So an employer can have a policy that restricts an employee from carrying marijuana.
Health Insurance and Marijuana
Oklahoma medical marijuana laws also address health insurance. It states that insurance carriers do not have to cover the cost of medical marijuana.
Growing Marijuana on Rental Property
On March 14, 2019, Governor Kevin Stitt approved House Bill 2612. This bill clarified some of the ambiguous terms in the original legislation that legalized marijuana in Oklahoma.
In the previous law, as a renter, you did not have to notify the property owner that you were growing marijuana on the property. The revisions require you now to ask the owner for consent to grow weed on his property.
Additionally, you need to keep the homegrown operations hidden. Legally, they must not be viewed by a normal person with 20/20 vision. You cannot have big plants growing where the neighbors can see them.
If you grow marijuana seeds, you also have to track your inventory. The medical marijuana laws in Oklahoma require commercial businesses to track their product from seed to sale.
No Smoking Laws
These revisions also allow businesses and property owners to prohibit marijuana usage on their property. In the same way that businesses can have a “no smoking” area, they can also have a “no weed here” policy.
The marijuana restrictions fall under the “Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workspaces Act.”
Know the Law Before You Use
Oklahoma medical marijuana laws are some of the most progressive in the country. They’re still the law, though. Before you attempt to grow, process, distribute, or purchase medical marijuana in Oklahoma, know the law.
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