Oklahoma voters approved of State Question 788 on June 26, 2018, which became effective on July 26, 2018. Governor Mary Fallin approved revised emergency rules for medical cannabis on August 6, 2018.

SQ 788 made it legal for any board-certified Oklahoma doctor to recommend a medical marijuana card for their patients. They must follow the same standards a reasonable doctor would follow to prescribe any other form of medication. However, the state does not impose a list of qualifying conditions and leaves the decision up to the doctor’s discretion.

As of August 9, 2018, medical marijuana is on course to become available in early 2019. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) will start accepting patient applications by August 25, 2018, and begin sending out replies within 14 business days. Since marijuana plants take a few months to grow, the medical cannabis industry must wait for plants to become mature in 2019.

Can I Get Arrested for Having Medical Marijuana?

A patient with a state-issued medical marijuana license cannot get arrested for possessing marijuana under the legal limit or consuming it in private. SQ 788 establishes the following possession limits for registered patients:

• Three ounces of marijuana — on person
• Eight ounces of marijuana — in residence
• Six mature plants and six seedlings
• One ounce of concentrated cannabis
• 72 ounces of edibles marijuana products

If you can state a medical condition, you can receive more lenient punishment for owning up to one and a half ounces of marijuana. Instead of a maximum fine of $1000, you only have to pay a maximum fine of $400. This offense will count as a misdemeanor, not a felony.

Your Rights as a Registered Patient

Under SQ 788 and the emergency medical marijuana rules, patients who hold a medical marijuana card have the right to:

• Enroll in school without rejection based only on cardholder status
• Rent an apartment without eviction or rejection based solely on patient status
• Work at their place of employment without discrimination for having a card or testing positive for marijuana
• Receive healthcare without disqualification merely due to medical marijuana treatment
• Visit or have custody of their child without denial only based on patient status
• Hold a state-issued license without suspension on the sole basis of cardholder status

However, your patient card does not give you the right to:

• Use or possess marijuana at your place of employment without recourse
• Work, live or learn somewhere that could face loss of a monetary or licensing benefit under federal law due to your patient status
• Sell or distribute marijuana to others without a commercial medical cannabis card

If you feel a person or organization violates your rights as a patient, contact a marijuana-positive lawyer near you.