This is information sharing about What the Rest of the World Can Learn From Oklahoma’s Medical Program. Well, medical programs are nothing new, cannabis has been a medicinal plant for millennia, and even after the 20th century’s anti-cannabis legislative blitz. ,
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The first medical marijuana program in the U.S. was launched as early as 1978 in New Mexico, at least in theory. Today, only a handful of states do not permit medical marijuana use and lack a program to provide it to residents in need. As widespread as
medical marijuana programs might be, Oklahoma’s is undoubtedly the best. Here
are a few facts about Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program and why other states
need to consider adopting similar rules and regulations.
It Doesn’t Have to
Take-Two Years to Develop an Effective Program
It can take several
years for pro-marijuana groups to drum up support for a state marijuana
initiative and achieve a place on a ballot, and unfortunately, even if that
measure receives overwhelming support from voters, many states are not
effective in developing regulations and making cannabis products available to
the public in a reasonable amount of time. For example, though both Colorado
and Washington agreed to legalize recreational weed in 2012, neither state was
able to develop and enact actionable marijuana law until 2014. Even worse, in
2018 Vermont essentially approved a bill allowing Vermonters to obtain and use
the drug, but the state legislature has since made no move to develop
regulations for cannabis sales, so residents of the state are stuck in limbo,
unsure where or how to get the products legally.
Though Oklahoma has
regulations only for a medical marijuana program, those regulations came
immediately on the heels of Oklahomans’ overwhelming support of medical
marijuana access — or about as immediately as legislatures can move. In January
2018, Oklahomans voted to legalize the medical use of cannabis, and by August
2018, Oklahoma dispensaries had products on their shelves. This speedy
development of state regulations was not the result of championing from the
state’s attorney General, board of health, courts or governor; instead, it was
Oklahomans fighting for what they believed in and working together to develop
laws that met their needs.
Restricting
Qualifying Conditions Is, Well, Restrictive
Most medical
marijuana programs are only available to those who need to use marijuana for a
medical reason. Unfortunately, different states dispute what qualifies as a
medical reason. Every state (except Oklahoma) publishes a list of qualifying
conditions, which tend to cover the most destructive, painful or otherwise
untreatable conditions imaginable — issues like cancer and AIDS, multiple
sclerosis and ALS and even mental illness like depression and PTSD. However,
each state has its own list of conditions; someone who suffers from Crohn’s
disease would be able to use cannabis as a treatment in Arizona, but not if
they live in Alaska, regardless of how unbearable their symptoms may be. These
lists of qualifying conditions can be extremely unfair as they strive to rank
the suffering caused by different conditions without taking into account an
individual’s experience.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s
medical marijuana program does not include a list of qualifying conditions.
Instead, it trusts that doctors and patients will be honest about their
experiences and reasonable with regard to when marijuana is an appropriate
treatment. This provides much more flexibility to sufferers of all conditions
and leaves the door open should science reveal greater applicability of marijuana
to a variety of disease and discomfort.
Programs Thrive When
They Are More Affordable and More Accessible
The COVID crisis has
helped the cannabis industries across the U.S. thrive, but Oklahoma in
particular is seeing a significant boom. Though recreational weed is not yet
available, the state is earning millions of dollars every month in tax revenues
from their medical program alone — and not because they are charging exorbitant
amounts for licenses or marijuana products. Rather, the program is so effective
at reaching patients who need cannabis treatment, and the state is so effective
at keeping products affordable, that Oklahomans don’t see the need to rely on a
black market or bother with travel to another state.
In contrast, a
handful of much more liberal states are not seeing such success with their
marijuana programs. In California, for example, the marijuana black market isbooming, and considering the punishing taxes and fees applied to marijuana
products, it is easy to see why so many cannabis consumers are looking for
alternatives to legal dispensaries. It turns out that increasing the cost of
weed doesn’t discourage people from using the drug; it merely forces those who
need and want the drug to find illegal and potentially dangerous alternatives.
Oklahoma’s marijuana
program is far from perfect — but it could be as close to perfect as any
medical marijuana program in the U.S. As we inch closer to universal cannabis
access (for adults, of course) we should look to Oklahoma as inspiration.
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