The new Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act creates a new marijuana testing lab license that will roll out at the end of August 2019, said Tulsa medical marijuana attorney Stephen Cale.
The following is for educational purposes only, does not contain complete details, and is not legal advice. If you need a commercial medical marijuana license or representation in the Oklahoma medical marijuana field, call the Cale Law Office at 918-771-7314.
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act goes into effect Aug. 21, 2019. It’s also known as the Unity Bill. Part of the Act creates categories of medical marijuana business licenses. They are:
- Commercial grower;
- Processor;
- Dispensary;
- Transporter; and the new
- Marijuana testing laboratory
COST OF OKLAHOMA MEDICAL MARIJUANA TESTING LABORATORY LICENSE
The cost of the testing laboratory license is the same as all other licenses – $2,500.00.
GENERAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MARIJUANA TESTING LABORATORY LICENSE
All applicants must be at least 25 years old.
If the applicant is applying as an individual (instead of a business entity) he or she must show proof of Oklahoma residency.
The Act defines Oklahoma residents as those who can establish proof of Oklahoma residency for at least two years immediately preceding the date of application or five years of continuous Oklahoma residency during the preceding 25 years.
However, the new law does not address whether current licensees who cannot satisfy the length of residency can renew their licenses, said Tulsa medical marijuana attorney Stephen Cale.
Any applicant applying as an entity must show that 75 percent of all members, managers, executive officers, partners, board members or any other form of business ownership are Oklahoma residents.
All applying individuals or entities must be registered to conduct business in the State of Oklahoma.
All applicants must disclose all ownership interests, and
Applicants must not have been convicted of a nonviolent felony in the last two years, and any other felony conviction within the last five years, must not be current inmates, or currently incarcerated in a jail or corrections facility.
OMMA ALLOWED TO MONITOR, INSPECT, AND AUDIT
The new law provides that the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority may monitor, inspect and audit a licensed lab, said Tulsa medical marijuana attorney Stephen Cale.
OMMA CAN CONTRACT WITH LAB TO DO COMPLIANCE TESTING, BUT THERE’S A BIG CATCH
Under the Act, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority may contract with a private laboratory to conduct compliance testing of marijuana testing labs licensed in the state. However, a lab under contract to do that cannot conduct any other commercial marijuana testing in the state.
CAN’T OWN A LAB IF OWN A GROWER, DISPENSARY OR PROCESSOR LICENSE
Most marijuana businesses can hold multiple licenses. For example, a business could have grower, dispensary, and processor licenses at the same time. However, that’s not true when it comes to the lab license.
The Act prohibits a person “who is a direct beneficial owner or an indirect beneficial owner of a medical marijuana dispensary, medical marijuana commercial grower, or medical marijuana processor” from owning a marijuana testing laboratory.
COMPLIANCE WITH CODES, PERMITS, ZONING
The marijuana testing lab must comply with all applicable local ordinances. This includes, but is not limited to, zoning, occupancy, licensing and building codes.
MUST HAVE LAB DIRECTOR ON SITE DURING OPERATING HOURS
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act provides that no “state-approved medical marijuana testing facility shall operate unless a medical laboratory director is on site during operational hours.”
CAN TEST MARIJUANA AND MARIJUANA PRODUCTS OF PATIENT, CAREGIVER
The new law doesn’t limit labs to testing only marijuana from growers and processors, for example. It also allows labs to test marijuana and marijuana products grown or produced by licensed marijuana patients and caregivers, said Tulsa medical marijuana attorney Stephen Cale.
But to do this, there are some conditions. The lab may accept samples of
medical marijuana, medical marijuana concentrate or medical
marijuana product from an individual person for testing only under the following conditions:
- 1. The individual person must be a medical marijuana patient or caregiver, or be a participant in an approved clinical or observational study conducted by a research facility; and
- 2. The medical marijuana testing laboratory must require the patient or caregiver to produce a valid patient license and current and valid photo identification.
MANDATORY POLICIES
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act will require testing labs to establish certain policies, said Tulsa medical marijuana attorney Stephen Cale. In particular, labs must establish policies to prevent the existence of or appearance of undue commercial, financial or other influences:
- that may diminish the competency, impartiality, and integrity of the testing processes or results of the laboratory, or
- that may diminish public confidence in the competency, impartiality, and integrity of the testing processes or results of the laboratory.
At a minimum, employees, owners or agents of a medical marijuana testing laboratory who participate in any aspect of the analysis and results of a sample are prohibited from improperly:
- Influencing the testing process,
- Manipulating data, or
- Benefiting from any ongoing financial, employment, personal or business relationship with the medical marijuana business that provided the sample.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE OKLAHOMA MEDICAL MARIJUANA TESTING LABORATORY LICENSE
You can get additional information on the Oklahoma medical marijuana testing laboratory license, see Part 2 of New Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Testing Lab License Coming In August.
WORKING WITH THE CALE LAW OFFICE
The Cale Law Office is dedicated to the practice of criminal defense and medical marijuana law. Our mission is to achieve the best possible results for our clients through hard work, attention to detail, and aggressive representation. This is done while maintaining the highest level of professionalism, integrity, and ethical standards. If you need legal representation or consulting in the medical marijuana field, call the Cale Law Office at 918-771-7314. Your initial consultation is free.
Tulsa medical marijuana attorney Stephen Cale is a Legal Committee member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). He’s not new to cannabis law. He has been serving people with legal needs for 20 years.