Non-residents who have an out-of-state medical marijuana license would be able to buy marijuana in Oklahoma if a recently introduced bill is passed into law, said Tulsa medical marijuana attorney Stephen Cale.
State Rep. Kevin McDugle (R-Broken Arrow), introduced HB 2216. It would give non-residents who are authorized to engage in medical use of marijuana in their state to have the same rights as Oklahoma medical marijuana patients. If passed into law, the bill would be effective November 1st.
OTHER MEDICAL MARIJUANA STATES | VERIFICATION | OMMA LIST
According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), 37 states, plus Washington, D.C., have some form of medical marijuana laws. Medical marijuana states bordering Oklahoma are: New Mexico, Colorado, Missouri, and Arkansas.
Under HB 2216, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) must maintain and publish a list of other states that authorize the medical marijuana use, plus the images of the medical marijuana certifications and licenses from those states. Also, the OMMA must make that information available to licensed medical marijuana dispensaries for verification, Cale said.
PENALTIES TO DISPENSARIES FOR NOT VERIFYING
The bill provides penalties for dispensaries that don’t verify the authenticity and status of an out-of-state medical marijuana license prior to a sale. Those penalties are:
- A $500 fine for a first offense.
- A $1,000 fine for a second offense.
- Revocation or suspension of the medical marijuana dispensary license for a third or more offenses.
Tulsa medical marijuana attorney Stephen Cale is the founder of Cale Law Office, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has been serving people with legal needs for more than 21 years.
Cale works with a number of marijuana-related organizations. He is a Legal Committee member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Additionally, he serves on the board of Green Country NORML, a Tulsa chapter of NORML. He also serves as a board member for, and is on the Standard Operating Procedures steering committee for, OK4U Approved, a medical marijuana patient union and trade organization.