State Department Of Health Talks Implementation Of SQ 788

The Oklahoma State Department of Health is preparing after voters approved State Question 788, legalizing medical marijuana. Under the new law, a license will be issued by the health department after considering a doctor's recommendation.

There's also a quick turnaround for the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

“We are going to implement a medical marijuana model as required by the state question,” OSDH Interim Commissioner Tom Bates said.

Rules governing the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority will be considered by the Oklahoma State Board of Health at a meeting on July 10.

SEE: Health Officials To Discuss Medical Marijuana At July Meeting

“The rules that will be submitting to the board are emergency rules. Which those have to be approved by the governor. Permanent rules then require the approval of the legislature,” Bates said.

Application information and requirements will be available online by July 26. The agency will not accept or process applications before August 25.

The OSDH says it will respond to all applications within 14 days, whether they're approved or denied.

But the rules on what can lead to denials, are still in the works.

“We’re at a point where we’re finalizing the applications, and begin accepting applications. State Question 788 is very broad,” said Bates.

There are concerns with the broad nature of the state question.

Read Also: State Lawmakers Discuss Rules For Medical Marijuana

The interim commissioner is concerned that medical marijuana will not be part of prescription monitoring, but is hopeful that will change if the legislature acts.

With OSDH creating a regulatory office to oversee the approval of medical marijuana licenses, they expect to need more manpower.

“I think it could easily, we could approach 100 employees that we would need to get this done,” Bates said.

There are still a lot of unknowns at this point. But once the meeting takes place July 10, there will be more details.