Oklahoma legalizes medical cannabis

The people of Oklahoma voted yesterday to legalize the medical use of cannabis, 56% for and 43 against. The state thus becomes the 30th to allow cannabis for medical purposes.

The Oklahoma State Question 788 authorizes people over 18 to obtain a prescription from a certified physician. Minors can also be treated with cannabis with the agreement of two doctors and the legal representative. A new office attached to the state Department of Health will handle regulation, including the licensing of dispensaries, growers and processors.

The measure is relatively unique in that it does not make the allocation of medical cannabis conditional on a particular pathology, which will make access to cannabis easier compared to other states that allow its therapeutic use.

The legalization of medical cannabis in Oklahoma is the result of a citizens' initiative which began two years earlier. Under the new law, medical cannabis cards will be valid for two years and allow patients to possess up to 224 grams of cannabis, 6 flowering and 6 growing plants, as well as edibles and concentrates.

The legalization project has met with strong opposition from law enforcement, political and religious leaders in the conservative state of Oklahoma. A group called SQ 788 is Not Medical launched a last-minute media campaign at 500000$ to portray the project as recreational legalization under the guise of medical use.

«This is bad public health policy that doesn't look like a legitimate medical treatment program,» said Dr. Kevin Taubman, former president of the’Oklahoma State Medical Association and chairman of the opposition group.

Despite being conservative, Oklahoma has evolved in recent years on the subject of cannabis, particularly among young adults and among Republicans.