Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

[turnpup]

Licenses don't have barcodes, just a 24-character license number (which is alphabetic, IIRC), the employees put that into the OMMA system, which says if it's valid or not (that's it, literally a yes or no comes back from the website). And there might be tracking info at the dispensary with their POS system, but nothing ever goes back to OMMA about who purchases what.

Thank you for the information!

[Mel]

Licenses don't have barcodes, just a 24-character license number (which is alphabetic, IIRC), the employees put that into the OMMA system, which says if it's valid or not (that's it, literally a yes or no comes back from the website). And there might be tracking info at the dispensary with their POS system, but nothing ever goes back to OMMA about who purchases what.

Nice to know. I mostly go to the same shop. 15% off for Veterans.

[jccouger]

I am amazed at how many dispensaries we have for medical marijuana. We have 4 within two blocks and another one is going in. I'd rather see new restaurants going in.

I have an idea for you:

Today, Go eat at any of the current restaurants in the area. There are quite a few of them, though i agree perhaps there could be more.

Now, tomorrow, I want you to go to a dispensary, smoke a little weed, and then go back to the same exact restaurant you went to today. It will be a completely new, perhaps even better, experience.

You are welcome.

[securityinfo]

Can you quote the relevant section of HB2612 (the "unity" bill) that says that such a database is allowed/will be created?

What I can find is this, and it (especially the bolded part) doesn't jibe with what you're saying:

SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 427.7 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The Authority shall create a medical marijuana use registry of patients and caregivers as provided under this section. The handling of any records maintained in the registry shall comply with all relevant state and federal laws including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
B. The medical marijuana use registry shall be accessible to Oklahoma-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries to verify the license of a patient or caregiver by the twenty-four-character identifier.
C. All other records regarding a medical marijuana licensee shall be maintained by the Authority and shall be deemed confidential. The handling of any records maintained by the Authority shall comply with all relevant state and federal laws including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Such records shall be marked as confidential, shall not be made available to the public and shall only be made available to the licensee, designee of the licensee, any physician of the licensee or the caregiver of the licensee. No personally identifiable information, as defined under HIPAA, shall be stored at the Department.
ENR. H. B. NO. 2612 Page 22
D. A log shall be kept with the file of the licensee to record any event in which the records of the licensee were made available and to whom the records were provided.
E. The Department shall ensure that all application records and information are sealed to protect the privacy of medical marijuana patient license applicants.

Rather than work through it here, take a look at the linked video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwTEjawvvA0

The salient conversation begins at about 20:20.

[TheTravellers]

Rather than work through it here, take a look at the linked video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwTEjawvvA0

The salient conversation begins at about 20:20.

OK, first of all, this is a discussion forum, so it would be preferable to "work through it here" so everybody won't have to screw around getting to 20:20, getting the relevant bill info, looking up the bill, etc.

Second, what they're talking about is not the "unity" bill, it's SB1030 (Section 4, paragraph C for those interested in looking it up themselves so you won't have to f*** around with the video).

Third, Pasternack (his guest) is not a lawyer, he's just a philosophy professor, so he's about as qualified as I am to interpret the law (I'm just a regular guy, not a lawyer either). He says the law requires the Dept. of Health to send the license database to a law enforcement computer system (that's pretty much verbatim). The law says this - "The State Department of Health shall make available all information displayed on medical marijuana licenses, as well as whether or not the license is valid, to law enforcement electronically through the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications System." To me, it depends on how "shall make available" is interpreted by lawyers/courts (as to whether or not it means "required to make available" or "may make available"), of which we have a few on here, and I know that "shall" has been interpreted various ways throughout the years and differently in different jurisdictions, so it'd be nice to have a lawyer's view on this statement.

Fourth, section 4, paragraph B says this (emphasis mine): "B. The State Department of Health shall assist any law enforcement officer in the performance of his or her duties upon such request by the law enforcement officer or the request of other local officials having jurisdiction. Except for license information concerning licensed patients, as defined in Section 2 of Enrolled House Bill No. 2612 of the 1st Session of the 57th Oklahoma Legislature, the Department shall share information with law enforcement agencies upon request without a subpoena or search warrant." So it appears to me that if a law enforcement agency wants to get info about a patient without a subpoena or search warrant, they can't because of the bolded part. Paragraph C sounds to me like it's just clarifying the method by which the information will be shared, while Paragraph B is the meat of the matter.

Uncle Grumpy just ain't right - he then starts talking about cops wanting to search your car if your taillight is out, and "it'll be a hard one to fight". WTF? If you have MMJ on you or in your car and you're stopped for a broken taillight, and you have an MMJ license, there should be no possible prosecution for possession, right? So then at 24:00, Pasternack says a reasonable interpretation of SB1030 and HB2612 would be that the Dept. of Health would release the medical marijuana license database excluding what's explicitly protected, "so everything but the patient database". So if everything but the patient database can be released, then what's the problem?

They go on to say they think that after 8/29, when a cop pulls someone over and brings them up on their system, it'll say "Marijuana User" in big red letters if you have an MMJ card, and then the officer will do whatever they can to make sure you get a DUI or DWI just because you might have ingested some THC sometime in the past 60 days.

Pete, any way you can leverage someone on your Gazette THC beat to ask OMMA/OSDH to clarify this? I could do it myself by contacting Nicole Nash, OSDH Asst. General Counsel (Policy and Legal Inquiries), NicoleN@health.ok.gov, 405-271-9444, ext.56053 (got that info from the video), but it'd probably be better if a journalist did it instead of just some guy like me...

[BBatesokc]

Tulsa World
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/loca...177489b18.html

[TheTravellers]

Tulsa World
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/loca...177489b18.html

Good article, thanks! Hopefully someone at the state level will step in and fix this soon. And I totally agree with the part at the end saying that if the intent is for an officer to be able to verify the validity of a patient's license, all they have to do is go to the OMMA website, and surely cops have that sort of web access in their car, no need for the language in SB1030 to exist.

[securityinfo]

Yeah, lots of "INAL" here. Same with those entrusted to interpret the law. When it comes to the database, it exists. The state employees that had to create it read SHALL as MUST. It contains all information on the form you send to Complia (the folks entrusted with running the licensing portal). I have direct personal knowledge. Fake news, I know. I suppose we we all have to wait and see what really happens here. The Tulsa World feature is pretty accurate. But I don't find it at all far-fetched that small town officers would use the process described in the video you have to "f*** around with" to view. As it stands, we have a law with very subjective interpretation on the books, and not much power on the patient side. Until this came up last week, no one was publicly giving a thought to providing law enforcement with all of the information. And here we are. As it stands, OKDOH will produce the export to OLETS on time and as the law is written. It would be fantastic if Pete can get OKDOH on the record stating that the process is on hold.

Good luck with trying to get a statement on the record from anyone at OKDOH.

[TheTravellers]

Yeah, lots of "INAL" here. Same with those entrusted to interpret the law. When it comes to the database, it exists. The state employees that had to create it read SHALL as MUST. It contains all information on the form you send to Complia (the folks entrusted with running the licensing portal). I have direct personal knowledge. Fake news, I know. I suppose we we all have to wait and see what really happens here. The Tulsa World feature is pretty accurate. But I don't find it at all far-fetched that small town officers would use the process described in the video you have to "f*** around with" to view. As it stands, we have a law with very subjective interpretation on the books, and not much power on the patient side. Until this came up last week, no one was publicly giving a thought to providing law enforcement with all of the information. And here we are. As it stands, OKDOH will produce the export to OLETS on time and as the law is written. It would be fantastic if Pete can get OKDOH on the record stating that the process is on hold.

Good luck with trying to get a statement on the record from anyone at OKDOH.

Yeah, sadly I agree with you on pretty much all points. Very good article by the Tulsa World, and I really hope Pete and his staff can get some kind of follow-up going on this, much like they did with their Q&A feature they did with Melissa Miller back in Dec 2018. We did an impressive job rolling out MMJ in a quick timeframe, but it's coming back to bite us in the ass in some ways. Some kind of injunction that says "Hey, wait, what does this mean, it can't go into effect like this" and having state legislators saying the same thing may hold some hope..

[TheTravellers]

Short-term victory, now it's up to the courts, not holding out much hope there, though, unless it goes before the OK Supreme Court (which is about the only consistently sane one I know of here in OK), which it's not going to...

https://thehappyogle.com/2019/08/08/...o-narc-on-you/

[BoulderSooner]

Yeah, lots of "INAL" here. Same with those entrusted to interpret the law. When it comes to the database, it exists. The state employees that had to create it read SHALL as MUST.
.

"Shall" is a word used in all federal contracts the means must ... . that is how is should be read and is not open for interepratation

"should" on the other hand is not absolutle in contract or statutes ..

[jn1780]

I heard several people talk about how they wanted to get into MJ business because it would be easy money.

At this point in time their right, but just like every other industry, there will be people who figure out how to do it cheaper and better. Should peak out here shortly in the number of new dispensaries and once the new fields start going online and prices drop, you will see the leaner business do better

[Pete]

This is a business built very strong on products, education and customer service.

There are dozens of different strains, concentrations and delivery systems.

The people I know that patronize certain dispensaries due so because of all these reasons. After all, marijuana is still available the old-fashioned way.

[Jeepnokc]

After all, marijuana is still available the old-fashioned way.

A friend that opened a dispensary told me the other day " I was a drug dealer before drug dealing was cool"

[Goon]

"Shall" is a word used in all federal contracts the means must ... . that is how is should be read and is not open for interepratation

"should" on the other hand is not absolutle in contract or statutes ..

+1

I’ll add here that most legislative language uses “May” instead of “should”, but you’re spot on that shall = must, without exception.

[SSEiYah]

I read an article, about three days ago, about how high the price of medical cannabis is in OK. It had a nice chart to compare with. Can not find it at all now. There is a financial barrier to the use of this product. The Veteran discount helps, but not much.

I have several friends/family with cards. $35 for 3.5 grams is the norm at a lot of stores now. I believe that is about a weekly supply for most. You can grow your own plants indoors for far cheaper, quite a few kits on Amazon which are not that expensive. I'd be leery to suggest anyone grow outdoors only from my experience in trying to grow quite a few different fruits and veggies here over the years. Lots of bugs/rabbits/etc that will eat up plants. I would imagine spraying pesticides on a plant you plan on smoking later is not good for ones health. The indoor method seems like the best option since it seems like with $400 worth of equipment you can get $1600 worth of product (at retail prices) on the first harvest if you know what you are doing and since you already have the equipment, the next harvests will be even less expensive.

[BBatesokc]

I have several friends/family with cards. $35 for 3.5 grams is the norm at a lot of stores now. I believe that is about a weekly supply for most. You can grow your own plants indoors for far cheaper, quite a few kits on Amazon which are not that expensive. I'd be leery to suggest anyone grow outdoors only from my experience in trying to grow quite a few different fruits and veggies here over the years. Lots of bugs/rabbits/etc that will eat up plants. I would imagine spraying pesticides on a plant you plan on smoking later is not good for ones health. The indoor method seems like the best option since it seems like with $400 worth of equipment you can get $1600 worth of product (at retail prices) on the first harvest if you know what you are doing and since you already have the equipment, the next harvests will be even less expensive.

If only I could grow a 'Gummie' Tree. Those and patches/creams were all I ever did while in treatment. I just can't do the smokable.

[Mel]

Great segue. I saw something new, to me, at the Dispensary I use. THC/CBD combo Suppositories. The Budtender told me they were GREAT when you are having problems down there. Not an edible by the way.

[mkjeeves]

If only I could grow a 'Gummie' Tree. Those and patches/creams were all I ever did while in treatment. I just can't do the smokable.

People have been getting baked with home baked and other edibles for decades. Probably can find more DIY info than you ever wanted to know about it on youtube. I'm going to pick some edibles up next month when I'm in Colorado to see if it helps with chronic pain without gluing me to the couch.

[TheTravellers]

People have been getting baked with home baked and other edibles for decades. Probably can find more DIY info than you ever wanted to know about it on youtube. I'm going to pick some edibles up next month when I'm in Colorado to see if it helps with chronic pain without gluing me to the couch.

You do know that not every strain of marijuana gives you couch-lock, right? Tons of sativa/hybrids that do exactly the opposite, do your research before you get there and you shouldn't have any problem finding the right strain for you.

[BBatesokc]

People have been getting baked with home baked and other edibles for decades. Probably can find more DIY info than you ever wanted to know about it on youtube. I'm going to pick some edibles up next month when I'm in Colorado to see if it helps with chronic pain without gluing me to the couch.

That's where I got mine while going through cancer treatment. Really helped with my pain, anxiety and inability to sleep. There were kinds I used that specifically were not supposed to make you tired.

[tyeomans]

I tend to go with strains that are more indica dominant. Sativa strains that tend to give you more energy make me feel more speedy, and I don't like that. I've tried out a lot of different strains from different dispensaries, and I've definitely found my favorites. Northern Lights (indica) and Strawnana (hybrid) are my faves.

One thing that I have also noticed is that the effect of the strain can sometimes have a different effect on me depending on my mental state or emotions at the time I start smoking. This can either leave me couch-ridden, focused, or just the opposite. Does anyone else feel this way?

[TheTravellers]

I tend to go with strains that are more indica dominant. Sativa strains that tend to give you more energy make me feel more speedy, and I don't like that. I've tried out a lot of different strains from different dispensaries, and I've definitely found my favorites. Northern Lights (indica) and Strawnana (hybrid) are my faves.

One thing that I have also noticed is that the effect of the strain can sometimes have a different effect on me depending on my mental state or emotions at the time I start smoking. This can either leave me couch-ridden, focused, or just the opposite. Does anyone else feel this way?

Yep, absolutely, to both paragraphs.

Some sativa strains (anything "orange") make me way more wired than I'd like, so I tend to go for indica-dominant hybrids (almost everything's some sort of hybrid nowadays though, I think).

And yes, your mental state definitely affects the effects - I've been in a weird mood and smoked some hoping it would help, but nope, it just did squat to change it. What I've read is that marijuana amplifies the state your mind is in, and can sometimes overcome that, but mostly just amps up what's in your head. It's almost always dependable for the effects you get time after time, but sometimes it just doesn't work the way you want it to (not often, I've found, though). Only been to one dispensary so far, tried a lot of their strains (they're small, so it didn't take long), but need to get to others to try some different ones I've heard are "better" than the ones I currently buy (Bruce Banner, Banana Kush, Strawberry Cough are the main ones).

[TheTravellers]

Great segue. I saw something new, to me, at the Dispensary I use. THC/CBD combo Suppositories. The Budtender told me they were GREAT when you are having problems down there. Not an edible by the way.

OK, this is just great, what dispensary sells them? Have to go by just to see for myself, not having problems down there.

[Mel]

It might be a bit of a trip for some. It's called Semper Fire. Owned and operated by 2 former Marines. 15% discount for Veterans. They have a locked Glass front Cooler with their edibles, extracts and (Shoveables?) Located at Reno and Czech Hall Road. This would have been a great product to have had when my Wife had Hemorrhoid Surgery 2 years ago. She had a reaction to anesthesia and couldn't keep any meds down.