Oklahoma State Council called to order on medical cannabis legislation

On June 26, the electorate of Oklahoma approved question 788 on the legal use of medical cannabis by 57 votes to 43. However, on July 10, the State Board of Health voted for controversial restrictions on the program, such as the ban on smokable forms of cannabis and the mandatory presence of one pharmacist per dispensary.

These measures were immediately protested by several groups and led the state Attorney General to rule on the legality of such a move. This situation is not unique to Oklahoma. Across the U.S., medical cannabis legalization programs in the making are subject to antagonistic forces.

Numerous protests

The criticisms levelled at the Council by citizens' and political organizations concern the anti-constitutionality of the approach. Firstly, these last-minute amendments were not submitted for public comment. Secondly, they were initiated by a private group (the day before the vote, a doctors' association had held a meeting in which they recommended such measures) and finally, they are contrary to the original spirit of the law.

The pro-legalization organization Green the Vote has taken legal action against Governor Mary Fallin and five council members for failing to comply with the’Oklahoma's Open Meetings Act, in reference to the medical association's meeting.

She also denounced a form of government conspiracy that placed the design of the law's enforcement measures in the hands of its opponents: “the people who were against the law are now the ones making the rules and causing problems”. And it fell to Mary Fallin, herself an opponent of the law, to approve the measures despite a dubious procedure.

Eight other people in Cleveland County have sued the Council for exceeding its prerogatives and abusing the authority conferred by the voters. The Council has not responded publicly to these attacks.

The group «Oklahomans for Health» has issued a press report calling on the legislators behind the bill to join the fight to «reinstate the will of the people and oust the authoritarian bureaucrats of the Oklahoma State Board of Health».

So Republicans joined the protest. Daren Ward, chairman of the Oklahoma County Republican Party, called on the court to act quickly to uphold the voice of the people and the constitutional processes of the Republic. He calls the Council's actions «repugnant» and the Council itself a «government swamp attempting to legislate outside the republican form of government.» He is also shocked by the Governor's approval.

Majority Leader Senator Greg Treat announced that legislators would meet to protect the will of the electorate. He criticized the adoption of last-minute amendments without public debate, and deplored the fact that such behavior on the part of government officials undermines the electorate's confidence in its institutions.

The prosecutor's call to order

The Attorney General finally ruled that the Conseil had acted outside his prerogatives. Firstly, by banning certain forms of cannabis when the law legalizes cannabis in general terms. Secondly, by pointing out that the law already provides for restrictions on access to licenses, and that the Board therefore has no right to add or remove them.

The public prosecutor pointed out that the Council is not a legislative institution and therefore has no right to legislate, as this right belongs solely to Parliament and the people. Initiatives such as limiting THC levels, restricting the location of dispensaries or prohibiting possible co-location with other companies therefore have no legal value. He urges the Council to decide on new measures without exceeding the limits of its authority.

Although the Council's General Counsel had tried to warn the Council that the two controversial measures cited above were not within the Council's legal authority, she voted against them. In a desperate attempt to uphold patients' rights to access medical cannabis, she sent herself threatening emails claiming that the government was usurping public rights. She has now been dismissed and prosecuted, but the outcome of the case will have proved her right.