A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kansas is dead for 2024 after the state Senate blocked an effort to bring the proposal to the floor for debate. Had it passed, the measure would have legalized the medicinal use of cannabis by patients with certain qualifying conditions in one of the few states that have yet to legalize medical weed.

Last month, a Kansas Senate legislative committee voted to table the proposal, Senate Bill 135, after hearing from both supporters and opponents of the measure. On Friday, an effort to revive the bill and pull it out of committee failed to gain the support of enough senators and was rejected by a vote of 12-25, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The Kansas Senate also failed to advance a bill to expand Medicaid coverage in the state, an opportunity from the federal government under the 2010 Affordable Care Act that has been adopted by 40 states and the District of Columbia. State Senator John Doll, a western Kansas Republican who voted for both measures, criticized his state for failing to follow the lead of much of the rest of the country.

“We’re behind the times,” Doll said on Friday after the Senate votes.

Bill Covered 21 Qualifying Conditions

Had the legislature approved Senate Bill 135, the measure would have legalized the use of cannabis for patients with one or more of 21 serious medical conditions including cancer, epilepsy, spinal cord injuries and chronic pain. Patients would be required to have a recommendation to use medical marijuana from their doctor and pay $50 for a state identification card to participate in the program. Patients would also pay a 10% excise tax on their purchases of medical cannabis. 

The bill also regulated the cultivation, processing, distribution and sale of medical marijuana. Four different state agencies—the Department of Health and Environment, the Board of Healing Arts, the Department of Revenue’s Alcohol and Beverage Control (which would be renamed to Alcohol and Cannabis Control) and the Board of Pharmacy—would be responsible for overseeing the medical marijuana program. 

Opponents of the medical marijuana bill cited the experience with legal medical pot in neighboring Oklahoma, where voters passed a legalization initiative in 2018 with nearly 57% of the vote. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and other Republican state officials have said that the loose regulations in his state’s medical marijuana law have led to an incursion of organized crime and foreign nationals eager to enter the lightly regulated market, many with plans to illegally distribute their crop to states that still prohibit weed.

“We had no idea we were going to have 10,000 growers, way more than they have in California and all these other states, and anybody with a hangnail could get a medical card,” said Republican Governor Kevin Stitt.

But Cheryl Kumberg, a registered western Kansas nurse and president of the Kansas Cannabis Coalition, said Oklahoma’s problems stem from the state’s legalization statute, which has remarkably lenient regulations compared to other states. She said Kansas residents who can obtain weed from other states are already using the drug, putting themselves in legal jeopardy in the process.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “I can go 45 minutes one way, a couple hours in the other direction, and you can just you can just use it however you want.”

Medical Marijuana Bill Tabled by Panel Last Month

Senate Bill 135 was stopped in its tracks on March 14 when the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee adopted a motion to table the measure. After the committe’s move, Democratic Governor Laura Kelly expressed frustration at the development. The governor, who has urged state lawmakers to pass a medical marijuana legalization bill in the past, also encouraged residents who back marijuana policy reform to contact state lawmakers and call on them to bring the proposal up for a vote.

“I am disappointed that some legislators are saying they don’t want to move forward with legalizing medical marijuana this year – effectively turning their backs on our veterans and those with chronic pain and seizure disorders,” Kelly wrote on X on March 16. “If they get their way, for yet another year thousands of Kansans will be forced to choose between breaking the law and living without pain. I encourage Kansans to call their state legislators and tell them to legalize medical marijuana this session.”

After Friday’s vote failed to bring the bill to the Senate floor, Democratic Senator Cindy Holscher said it is disappointing to see Republicans block the medical marijuana legalization bill despite the efforts of residents eager for cannabis policy reform.

“Over the past three weeks, scores of Kansans have reached out to their senators voicing support for medical cannabis as they have done for nearly the past decade,” Holscher said, according to a report from KAKE television news. “Sadly, supporters have faced many hurdles on this important measure.”

The post Kansas Medical Cannabis Proposal Dead for 2024 first appeared on High Times.

The post Kansas Medical Cannabis Proposal Dead for 2024 appeared first on Paradise Found.

A new law in Oklahoma gives the state’s cannabis regulators the authority to launch a medical marijuana dispensary secret shopper program. The legislation, which was passed by state legislators and signed into law in 2022, tasks the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) with inspecting at least 50 licensed medical marijuana retailers for violations of the state’s regulations each year.

The new law, House Bill 3971 (HB 3971), went into effect this week along with several other bills designed to rein in control of Oklahoma’s burgeoning medical cannabis industry. Medical marijuana was legalized in the Sooner State in 2018 with the passage of a statewide ballot measure, leading to an explosion of licensed weed businesses in the loosely controlled industry. Since then, state lawmakers have been working to regulate pot businesses, passing several bills in 2022 after an initiative to legalize recreational pot failed at the polls.

State Representative Josh West, one of the sponsors of HB 3971, said that the new law is designed to protect Oklahomans who consume cannabis products.

“Constituents, people in the industry, people outside of the industry, the average public, they wanted some checks and balances in place,” West told local media in a recent interview.

New Law Authorizes Weed Secret Shoppers

The legislation authorizes OMMA to send undercover secret shoppers into the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries. Under the program, secret shoppers will purchase medical marijuana products so that they can be lab-tested by the regulatory agency.

The law requires OMMA to investigate at least 50 medical marijuana dispensaries per year under the secret shopper program. West said that he wants the OMMA to have the same authority as the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission (ABLE), the state’s alcoholic beverage regulator.

“Consumer safety is the biggest part of it,” said West. “And we want to ensure that we are keeping the bad actors out. And so it’s no different than what ABLE does when ABLE goes into a liquor store and ensures that they’re following the law.”

HB 3971 was passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Republican Governor Kevin Stitt in May 2022. The bill’s language delayed implementation of the law until 2024 in order to give OMMA time to develop regulations and processes needed to carry out the legislation.

“Now granted they’ve had two years to figure this out,” West said. “And so I haven’t talked to Director Berry, and so I would assume that they knew this was going to be coming along.”

West said that he has heard from legitimate medical marijuana business owners who are struggling to compete with operators diverting cannabis to the unregulated market. He added that the new law requires all businesses to uphold the same standards.

“If I have a dispensary, I’m going to ensure that not only myself, but that my employees know at any point that someone can come in there and make sure they’re following the laws,” West said. “So I think that it will be a positive thing for the industry, and at the end of the day it’s a positive thing for the consumers.”

After being asked about the new medical marijuana secret shopper law, OMMA declined to offer details about the program.

“We appreciate the public’s interest in our ongoing efforts to implement new state laws,” the agency wrote in a statement to the press. “We will provide the latest information on our website, social media channels and newsletters.”

More New MMJ Laws Also Now In Effect

Several other laws related to Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry also went into effect this week. Under Senate Bill 1704 (SB 1704), employees at licensed medical marijuana businesses are required to apply for and obtain identification cards from OMMA. Those who fail to receive the proper credentials are subject to losing their jobs and the right to continue working in the state’s medical cannabis industry.

Another new law, House Bill 3929 (HB 3929), regulates product quality at cannabis testing laboratories. The legislation sets standards and rules for process validation OMMA will be required to follow and authorizes sanctions for failure to comply with state requirements.

House Bill 4056 (HB 4056) establishes a process to submit feedback about Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program. The legislation tasks certain entities with submitting recommendations for standards and best operating practices to OMMA. The new law also requires the regulatory agency to advocate for rules to govern the industry and to require cannabis testing labs to comply with the regulations.

West said the state legislature could be working on cannabis regulations for the next 30 years.

Oklahoma lawmakers return to the state Capitol in Oklahoma City in February for the launch of the state’s 60th legislative session. 

The post New Law Brings Secret Shoppers to Oklahoma Weed Dispensaries appeared first on High Times.

The post New Law Brings Secret Shoppers to Oklahoma Weed Dispensaries appeared first on Paradise Found.

An Oklahoma cannabis activist has joined forces with three of the state’s medical marijuana providers to file a lawsuit against increased regulatory fees that went into effect last month. The legal action, which maintains that the fee increases are unconstitutional, was filed on Friday by Jeb Green, founder of Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, and the medical marijuana dispensaries Pharside, Oklahoma Natural Cures, and Bingo 101.

The lawsuit challenges a new fee structure for medical marijuana businesses signed into law by Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt in May 2022. The measure, House Bill 2179 (HB 2179) raises the regulatory fees charged by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) for licensed medicinal cannabis businesses to operate in the state.

Previously, medical marijuana operators paid a flat fee of $2,500 for each licensed business. But under HB 2179, which went into effect on June 1 of this year, fees were hiked dramatically, with the largest cannabis cultivation operations now slated to pay up to $50,000 per year.

The lawsuit filed last week maintains that the fee increases authorized by the legislation constitute a “revenue-raising” measure, which under Oklahoma state law must be passed with at least a 75% majority of the members in both the Oklahoma Senate and the state House of Representatives. Additionally, revenue-raising bills may not be passed in the final five days of the legislative session. 

But HB 2179 did not achieve the required supermajority and was passed in the closing days of the 2022 legislative session and was passed in the final days of the 2022 legislative session. The plaintiffs maintain that HB 2179 is not a simple regulatory bill because it does not add any new regulations intended to be funded by the new fees.

“In other words, the thrust of the legislation is not regulatory in nature but is designed to raise revenue instead,” the lawsuit states, as quoted by The Oklahoman. “Even if licensing fees provide some financial support to the OMMA, those fees are not closely tied to the cost of service for which they are imposed.”

The plaintiffs estimate that the new fees authorized by the legislation will increase licensing revenue collected by OMMA by at least $28,580,000 each year. The actual amount could be higher, they note, because some medical marijuana companies would be placed in different fee tiers based on the size of the operation. 

The lawsuit claims that the increased fees are a violation of the Oklahoma Constitution and should be overturned. Additionally, the plaintiffs allege that HB 2179 created a discriminatory “special law” because it contains a tiered fee structure for some businesses but not others.

“Our challenge to (the law) is about more than cannabis. This is a constitutional question that affects every Oklahoma taxpayer. We are respectfully requesting that the court consider our plea,” said Green. “Our medical marijuana program has been revenue-positive since Day One. It has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue the last five years. The license fee increases on our industry are not needed to support regulation.”

HB 2179 is not the only legislation passed to tighten the regulations for Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program. After a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma failed to gain voters’ approval in March, lawmakers introduced dozens of bills proposing stricter regulations on the state’s medical marijuana providers. Nine of the measure were approved by lawmakers and signed into law by Stitt. Among them is SB 18X, which creates a Medical Marijuana Tax Fund under the control of the state legislature that will accrue medical marijuana tax revenue collected by the state for appropriation to OMMA.

The post Oklahoma Medical Cannabis Firms File Suit To Block Fee Increases appeared first on High Times.

The post Oklahoma Medical Cannabis Firms File Suit To Block Fee Increases appeared first on Paradise Found.

The Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that targets the illicit weed industry by requiring medical marijuana businesses to provide proof that they are legally occupying the property where their operations are located. The measure, Senate Bill 806, was approved by the state Senate by a vote of 41-1 on Tuesday and now heads to the state House of Representatives for consideration.

The legislation is one of dozens of bills designed to reign in Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry that have been introduced following the defeat of a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis earlier this month. Senator Brent Howard, the author of Senate Bill 806, said that the bill is designed to help law enforcement regulate medical marijuana, which was legalized in 2018 with the passage of a statewide ballot measure. If passed by the House and signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt, the legislation would limit the number of medical marijuana businesses that can list the same physical address on their license applications.

“Those who regulate our medical marijuana industry are running into problems when they raid a facility only to learn that there are numerous licensees who utilize that one address and all have product stored there,” Howard said about Senate Bill 806. “This makes it nearly impossible for law enforcement to know what product is actually illegal and to properly investigate the case. This measure would limit the number of licenses that can be listed under one address to help improve regulation and shut down illegal business activity.”

Under the bill, applicants for medical marijuana business licenses would be required to provide proof that they own or rent the property at the address listed on the application. Such proof could consist of a copy of an executed deed of conveyance or a signed lease for the property. An address or physical location would not be permitted to have multiple licenses within the same medical marijuana license category. The bill is designed to help the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) and the state Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) identify medical marijuana businesses that are operating without a required license from the state.

“By requiring full disclosure of possessory right, OMMA and OBN will be able to ensure no illegal operations or bad foreign actors are abusing Oklahoma lands and citizens,” Howard said. “This bill would also ensure we know that there are no straw purchasers for illegal foreign owners coming in after the initial application.”

Recreational Weed Measure Failed This Month in Oklahoma

Senate Bill 806 is one of several bills that have been introduced to help regulate medical marijuana, which was legalized in Oklahoma with the passage of State Quest 788 in 2018. With low barriers to entry including license fees for cannabis businesses of only $2,500 and no limit on the number of cannabis dispensaries, Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry quickly grew to become one of the largest in the nation.

State Question 788 also had few restrictions to qualify for a medical marijuana card, and the number of registered patients now equals nearly 10% of the state’s population. As of November 2022, Oklahoma had more than 2,300 medical marijuana dispensaries, more than the number of gas stations in the state, according to a report from local media.

Earlier this month, the state’s Republican governor said the state of Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program is largely responsible for the failure of a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana at a special election on March 7. The proposal, State Question 820, was rejected by nearly 62% of voters.

“There’s enough marijuana, I’ve been told, grown in Oklahoma to supply the entire United States. That’s not what this was supposed to be,” Stitt said after State Question 820 failed at the polls. “This was supposed to be about medical use in the state of Oklahoma, and it’s gotten way out of control.”

“As I was traveling the state, I knew Oklahomans didn’t want it,” Stitt added. “They were so tired of a dispensary on every single corner.”

Since then, state lawmakers have filed dozens of cannabis-related bills for this year’s legislative. This week, state Attorney General Gentner Drummond praised Oklahoma lawmakers for passing three of the measures, including Senate Bill 806.

“Oklahoma’s illegal marijuana grow operations pose a serious threat to public safety, particularly in rural communities invaded by organized criminals from China and Mexico,” Drummond said in a statement on Tuesday. “As the state’s chief law enforcement officer, I am committed to working arm-in-arm with Oklahoma’s law enforcement agencies to deliver justice and restore peaceful order.”

The post Oklahoma Senate Passes Bill Targeting Illegal Weed Industry appeared first on High Times.

The post Oklahoma Senate Passes Bill Targeting Illegal Weed Industry appeared first on Paradise Found.

Voters in Oklahoma on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state that already has one of the nation’s most robust medical marijuana programs. Supporters of State Question 820, however, vow to continue the effort to legalize cannabis for adults in Oklahoma.

“Our mission from the very start has been about making a more prosperous, just and safer state,” Yes on 820 campaign director Michelle Tilley said in a statement after the results of Tuesday’s election became apparent. “We are moms and dads who want more revenue in our schools, more resources for law enforcement, and more jobs and investment in communities across the state. Unfortunately, tonight we fell short.”

Oklahoma voters defeated the legalization initiative by a solid margin, with nearly 62% opposed and only 38% voting in favor as of Wednesday morning, with more than 95% of votes counted in all 77 of the state’s counties, according to information from The New York Times. The defeat came following strong opposition from law enforcement groups and Republican politicians including Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. 

Oklahoma Supporters Vow To Continue Legalization Effort

Supporters of SQ 820 had originally planned for the ballot measure to appear before voters during last year’s presidential election, but delays in certifying the measure prevented the initiative from being included on the ballot in November. In October, Stitt announced that voters would go to the polls on March 7 for a special election to vote on the measure.

Brian Vicente, founding partner at the cannabis law firm Vicente LLP and a member of the Yes on 820 campaign’s steering committee, said that the failure of the ballot measure to gain approval at the polls on Tuesday is not the end of cannabis policy reform efforts in Oklahoma, where voters legalized medical marijuana in 2018.

“With a March special election and no other issues on the ballot, we knew from the beginning this would be an uphill battle,” Vicente wrote in an email to High Times. “The results still demonstrate there is significant support for legalizing and regulating cannabis for adult use, and we expect it to continue growing until a similar measure passes in the near future. Overcoming a century of anti-marijuana propaganda is no simple task, and there is still work to be done.”

Had it passed, SQ 820 would have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older and established a regulatory framework for commercial production and sales of recreational marijuana. The measure also included provisions to allow those with past convictions for some marijuana offenses to petition the courts to have their criminal record expunged. Yes on 820 campaign senior advisor Ryan Kiesel, who helped draft the ballot language, said that the defeat of the measure will continue Oklahoma’s disproportionate enforcement of marijuana prohibition.

“We have thousands of families being torn apart and thrown into chaos every year because a mom or a dad has a small amount of marijuana that would be legal in 21 other states and legal in Oklahoma for medical card holders,” said Kiesel. “Furthermore, the enforcement of Oklahoma’s marijuana laws has historically been deeply slanted against Black Oklahomans, who are much more likely to be arrested than their White counterparts. We must continue to work to end these unjust and wasteful arrests and to give people who do have arrests or convictions on their records the tools to seek expungement and start with a clean slate.”

Jeffrey M. Zucker, co-founder and president of cannabis consulting firm Green Lion Partners and the vice chair of the board of directors of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), promised more work to end cannabis prohibition in the Sooner State.

“Today’s decision in Oklahoma is heartbreaking, especially considering how many challenges this bill faced before it got to the ballot and how much work advocates put in,” Zucker said in a statement. “We have a long way to go to undo the damage of the war on drugs, especially in a state where more than 4500 people are arrested annually for cannabis possession.”

Tuesday’s defeat of SQ 820 continues a string of setbacks for the cannabis policy reform movement in traditionally conservative states. In the November general election, voters in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota voted against recreational marijuana ballot measures, while similar proposals succeeded in Maryland and Missouri.

The post Oklahoma Voters Reject Recreational Pot Legalization Initiative appeared first on High Times.

The post Oklahoma Voters Reject Recreational Pot Legalization Initiative appeared first on Paradise Found.

Voters in Oklahoma will head to the polls on Tuesday to decide on State Question 820, a ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana statewide. If passed, the initiative would legalize the possession of cannabis for adults 21 and older and establish a framework to govern the recreational marijuana industry in the state.

Cannabis activists had hoped that State Question 820 (SQ 820) would appear before voters during the 2022 general election, but delays in certifying the measure prevented the initiative from appearing on the ballot last November. In October, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced that voters would go to the polls on March 7 to decide the fate of the measure.

As activists prepare for Tuesday’s election, Michelle Tilley, campaign director for the Yes on 820 campaign, says that the cannabis legalization measure gives voters “a chance to reject the ‘Reefer Madness’ style scare tactics being pushed by our opponents and choose instead to support a reform that will make our state more prosperous, more just and more safe.”

“We are working down to the wire to get every last ‘yes’ vote in the state on the phone, on the doorstep, or in the media,” Tilley wrote in an email to High Times. “We are confident that, if Oklahomans turn out to vote, the majority supporting commonsense legalization will prevail.” 

Vote On SQ 820 Delayed By Oklahoma Supreme Court

In July, the group Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws submitted petitions with signatures from more than 164,000 voters in favor of the legalization initiative, far exceeding the number required to qualify for the ballot. But the secretary of state’s office, which used a new system to verify signatures, took far longer to certify the signatures than in previous elections, leaving too little time to include the question on the November ballot, according to election officials.

The campaign for SQ 820 challenged the decision to delay the vote on the initiative, arguing the group had met all guidance from the government and complied with deadlines for submitting the proposal to state officials. But last month, the state Supreme Court affirmed the decision by election officials and ruled that the measure would not be included on the ballot for the midterm election next month.

“There is no way to mandate the inclusion of SQ820 on the November 2022 general election ballot,” Justice Douglas Combs wrote in the majority opinion. “SQ820 will be voted upon by the people of Oklahoma, albeit either at the next general election following November 8, 2022, or at a special election set by the Governor or the Legislature.”

Special Election Announced In October

In October, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced that he was calling a special election for SQ 820 to be held on March 7, setting the stage to finally give the state’s voters the opportunity to decide on the recreational marijuana legalization measure. Since that time, activists have been busy preparing for the vote with public appeals to gain support for the measure. On February 27, retired Army officer Jay Williams asked voters to approve the ballot initiative, saying that SQ 820 would help military veterans cope with the persistent negative effects of their service.

“I proudly served this country to protect our freedom,” Williams said in an ad for the campaign. “But for many veterans, that pride comes with a cost: PTSD. Oklahoma veterans can’t access medical marijuana through the VA, so they suffer or risk harsh punishment, even jail. That’s wrong. Yes on 820 means improved access to medical marijuana for Oklahoma veterans and it reduces punishment for minor marijuana offenses and increases drug treatment to turn lives around.”

If voters approve SQ 820 on Tuesday, the ballot measure would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older. The initiative would task the state’s existing Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority with drafting and implementing rules to regulate the new recreational cannabis industry. The measure also includes provisions to allow those with past convictions for some marijuana offenses to petition the courts to have their criminal record expunged.

SQ 820 would set a 15% tax on sales of recreational marijuana, more than double the 7% tax rate levied on sales of medical cannabis. Taxes generated by the sale of recreational pot would be divided among the state’s General Revenue Fund, local governments that allow licensed adult-use cannabis businesses to operate in their jurisdiction, the state court system, school districts, and drug treatment programs.

The post Oklahoma Activists Prepare for Recreational Pot Legalization Vote appeared first on High Times.

The post Oklahoma Activists Prepare for Recreational Pot Legalization Vote appeared first on Paradise Found.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that voters will get to decide on a ballot proposal to legalize recreational marijuana, but not until after this year’s general election in November. The state’s highest court rejected an appeal from the group Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws that would have required the State Election Board to include State Question 820 on the ballot for this year’s vote.

“There is no way to mandate the inclusion of SQ820 on the November 2022 general election ballot,” Justice Douglas Combs wrote in the majority opinion. “SQ820 will be voted upon by the people of Oklahoma, albeit either at the next general election following November 8, 2022, or at a special election set by the Governor or the Legislature.”

In July, Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws submitted petitions with signatures from more than 164,000 voters in favor of the legalization initiative, exceeding the number required to qualify for the ballot by more than 70,000 signatures. But the secretary of state’s office, which was using a new system to verify signatures, took far longer to certify the signatures than in previous elections, leaving too little time to include the question on this fall’s ballot, according to election officials.

Jeffrey Cartmell, counselor to the secretary of state, said the service provided by the third-party vendor to check signatures was possibly the first “true signature verification process” ever used by the state.  

“This new process differs significantly from the historical practice of merely counting the number of individuals who signed the petition without regard for their voter registration status,” Cartmell wrote in a statement to News 9.

The Supreme Court also issued a decision on legal challenges to State Question 820 on Wednesday, ruling against two petitions that sought changes in the measure’s ballot title and summary. The justices also denied requests for rehearings on two challenges to the signature gathering process that the court had already rejected.

“It is disappointing that a few people with their own political interests were able to use the process to prevent voters from voting on this in November,” campaign director Michelle Tilley said in a statement. “However, we cannot lose sight of how far we have come. This is a big deal. Now the petition phase is finished, and Oklahomans will be voting to legalize recreational marijuana here, and we can soon realize all the benefits it will bring to our state.”

State Question 820 Would Legalize Rec Weed in Oklahoma

If the proposal is eventually passed, State Question 820 would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older. The ballot initiative would also task the state’s existing Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority with drafting and implementing rules to regulate the new recreational cannabis industry. The measure also includes provisions to allow those with past convictions for some marijuana offenses to petition the courts to reverse their convictions and have their criminal record expunged.

State Question 820 would set a 15% tax on sales of recreational marijuana, more than double the 7% tax rate levied on sales of medical cannabis. Taxes generated by the sale of recreational pot would be divided among the state’s General Revenue Fund, local governments that allow licensed adult-use cannabis businesses to operate in their jurisdiction, the state court system, school districts, and drug treatment programs.

With the Supreme Court’s decision, State Question 820 will not be presented to the electorate until the 2024 general election, unless a special election is called by Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, who has expressed opposition to the proposal. But he has also said that the nation’s patchwork policy of cannabis legalization and prohibition has become problematic.

“Do I wish that the feds would pass legalized marijuana? Yes. I think that would solve a lot of issues from all these different states,” Stitt recently told The Associated Press. “But in our state, just trying to protect our state right now, I don’t think it would be good for Oklahoma.”

Arshad Lasi, CEO of Oklahoma licensed medical marijuana company The Nirvana Group, said that news of the Supreme Court’s decision “is disappointing because the industry and consumers here alike were optimistic that recreational marijuana would make it onto the ballot and be voted into law.”

“This setback may make things especially difficult for smaller businesses, who will likely continue to face challenges navigating this saturated market but growing market,” Lasi said in an email to High Times. “We are optimistic that another opportunity for adult-use marijuana may be possible via a special election in the coming months. However, if that doesn’t prevail we may not have another chance for two years.”

The post Court Rules Oklahoma Won’t Vote On Legalizing Pot in November appeared first on High Times.

The post Court Rules Oklahoma Won’t Vote On Legalizing Pot in November appeared first on Paradise Found.

State officials in Oklahoma have put a moratorium on issuing new licenses for medical marijuana businesses in a bid to allow the state’s cannabis regulators to catch up with oversight of a burgeoning medicinal cannabis industry. Under the moratorium, which was passed by state lawmakers earlier this year, no new licenses for medical growers, processors or dispensaries will be issued by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) for a period of at least two years.

Oklahoma voters legalized the use and sale of medical pot with the approval of State Question 788 in 2018, a ballot measure that created the least tightly regulated legal cannabis market in the nation. Corbin Wyatt, owner of Likewise Dispensary, said that the state’s medical marijuana law included few barriers to entry for entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in cannabis.

“It was easy,” Wyatt told local media. “You pay $2,500 and you can open your business pretty much anywhere.”

In May, Oklahoma lawmakers passed House Bill 3208, which puts a two-year pause on issuing new licenses for medical cannabis businesses. The new restrictions under the measure were originally scheduled to become effective on August 1, but bills must go into effect at least 90 days after passage unless they gain a two-thirds majority vote in the legislature. The bill was signed by Governor Kevin Stitt on May 26, making it effective on August 26 under state law.

Applications for new medical cannabis businesses submitted before the moratorium goes into effect will be processed by the OMMA. But applications that are denied or received after the deadline will not be considered until 2024 at the earliest.

Mark Woodward, public information officer for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN), said the state already has over 2,200 medical dispensaries, making oversight of the businesses by state regulators a logistical challenge.

“That’s a tremendous amount of dispensaries,” Woodward told a Tulsa television news crew. “It’s more than California, Oregon, Alaska, Washington, Nevada and New Mexico combined.”

Unlicensed Businesses Are Operating Outside the Law

Woodward said that many of the businesses that have been operating in the state, even some that have been licensed by the OMMA, have been producing cannabis for shipment out of Oklahoma illegally. He added that some of the state’s 8,500 medical weed cultivators have ties to organized crime organizations from the United States, Mexico, and China that have moved into the state, many during the COVID-19 pandemic, to take advantage of Oklahoma’s inexpensive licensing fees and relatively lax cannabis regulations.

“We’ve talked to our law enforcement partners from New York to Florida, and they say we are the number one supplier of black market marijuana on the East Coast,” he said.

Woodward said that some of the state’s licensed medical dispensaries are selling cannabis that has been produced by illicit growers and processors. He added that the pause in new businesses will give regulators and the OBN an opportunity to regulate the state’s medical marijuana supply chain more closely.

“This moratorium will allow us to focus on those we already have in place and make sure they’re either following the law or going after those bad actors,” he explained.

Matt Boyd, the owner of the Green Cross Meds cannabis dispensary in Tulsa, said that the state’s saturated market has caused profits from his business to drop by two-thirds.

“In the last year, I’m not the only dispensary owner that has felt a decline in business, and it’s not because of anything we’ve done different,” he explained. “It’s just because there’s been so many dispensaries that have opened up. Just the limit of ‘no more new dispensaries’ coming into business is gonna help all of us existing dispensary owners now.”

Boyd said that the two-year moratorium on new retailer licenses will slow the impact on existing retailers.

“It’s time to allow a market that’s brand new, a brand-new grassroots industry in our state, to kinda have some balance, y’know?” Boyd said. “And that’s just what it’s gonna take.”

Oklahoma lawmakers recently passed a total of 12 bills to tighten regulations on the state’s medical cannabis industry, including a requirement that new dispensaries and cultivation operations be located at least 1,000 ft. from schools. The moratorium on the issuance of new licenses is scheduled to be in effect until August 1, 2024, or until the medical marijuana authority catches up on the backlog of pending applications. But some business owners believe that may never happen.

“Until the OMMA either feels that they are able to control everything and it’s an opportune time to issue new licenses, but most people are saying that won’t ever come,” Wyatt said.

The post Oklahoma Puts Moratorium On Issuing New Medical Cannabis Licenses appeared first on High Times.

The post Oklahoma Puts Moratorium On Issuing New Medical Cannabis Licenses appeared first on Paradise Found.