Board of Health repeals regulations!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

POTENCY OF POT SHOULD BE LIMITED!

by Steve Fair

     This week, the Oklahoma Board of Health voted unanimously to repeal some of the regulations passed just three weeks ago.  They voted to eliminate the ban of smokeable marijuana and the requirement to have a pharmacist on site at dispensaries.  They also removed the limitation on THC content, the requirement to have a pregnancy test before getting a license, and to lower the age of workers at dispensaries from 21 to 18. 

    Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one of over one hundred chemical compounds found in marijuana and is clearly the most potent.  THC reaches the bloodstream more rapidly when smoked than when ingested.  When ingested as an edible, the effects of THC take longer but tend to be stronger and last longer than smoking.  THC is activated by heat, either by smoking or the cooking process. 

     By voting to remove the THC potency limit in marijuana sold in Oklahoma, the board of health likely created potential problems down the road.  According to a Dutch study, conducted over a sixteen year period, the more potent the pot, the more people sought treatment for marijuana-related problems.  The study found that 15% THC was the highest level that should be sold because higher levels resulted in addiction and health issues.  In a February 2018 editorial, the Washington Post, citing the Dutch study, said marijuana potency should be as regulated as drugs and alcohol potency. 

     Ron Durbin, the attorney for Green the Vote, the Oklahoma group who ran SQ #788, said the health board’s changes were worse than the previous rules.  “Lack of careful attention to detail has created these problems. These regulations are worse than the old ones,” Durbin said.  Durbin has asked Health Department interim commissioner of the Health Department to hold off a week so the so-called ‘rule conflicts’ are addressed.  Durbin has sued the state, claiming the health board commissioners violated Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act by having secret discussions in regard to how SQ #788 will be implemented. 

     The real ‘lack of attention to detail’ was those who ran SQ #788.  By being vague in their language, they granted the legislature and state government a great deal of latitude in how medical marijuana will be grown, sold and used in Oklahoma.  Make no mistake Green the Vote knew what they were doing.  By cloaking #788 in a ‘medical marijuana’ package, they gained the support of many who suffer from chronic pain or have family who do.  When you couple that with the opioid epidemic in Oklahoma among the elderly, it gave medical marijuana justification in many voters mind.

    On Thursday the Health Department posted applications for licenses to grow, sell and use medical marijuana.  No application can be submitted until August 25th.  Licensees must be Oklahoma residents and no more than 25% of their company equity can be held by non-Oklahoma residents.  Legal medical marijuana sales reached nearly $10 billion last year in the U.S., so it is big business and there is no doubt there will be no shortage of applicants to grow process and distribute.