Groups that backed medical marijuana legalization in Oklahoma want a special session to properly regulate it.
Gov. Mary Fallin said last week emergency rules from the Oklahoma State Department of Health will be enough.
New Health Solutions Oklahoma Executive Director Bud Scott said lawmakers are using that as cover until elections are over.
"Once they’re done with that, they believe they can go into legislative session in 2019 and then tear this thing up," Scott said. "And that’s exactly what will happen because there will no longer be immediate threat of political pressure from the people of Oklahoma, because there won’t be an election for another two years."
Scott also said rulemaking process is vulnerable to litigation, something Arkansans found out after voting to legalize medical marijuana in 2016.
"Their agencies had developed rules and a process and started issuing the first license applications, and, at that point, there was litigation that ensued. A district court in Arkansas enjoined the program," Scott said.
State Question 788 co-author Frank Grove said the Oklahoma Health Department is doing its best creating rules for the drug, but its authority is unclear and there are many issues to address.
"There needs to be additional transportation licenses within the structure. There needs to be more stringent testing standards applied at the statute level. We also would like to enshrine gun rights more explicitly within the law itself," Grove said.
The proposed rules are open to public comment through Tuesday, and a State Board of Health vote is expected July 10.
Lawmakers dawdled on marijuana regulations in regular session, and Fallin favored a special session prior to SQ788’s passage.
