In 2020, Oklahoma’s legal cannabis market expanded to more than double in size, generating a record $831 million in revenue. By December, there were 365,000 patients, up from 220,000 in January 2020.

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) is responsible for licensing, regulating, and administering the program as authorized by state law.

The OMMA website is where the application submission and information for patients, caregivers, dispensaries, growers, processors, and physicians also happens.

Oklahoma Dispensary Menu

Click here for the latest list of medical marijuana dispensaries in the state.

Oklahoma’s Medical Marijuana Law

Oklahoma became the 30th U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana. Residents over the age of 18 with a valid physician’s recommendation can apply for a medical marijuana patient license.

If approved, they can purchase medical marijuana from licensed dispensaries throughout the state.

Qualifying Conditions

Residents of OK can qualify for medical cannabis provided they have the following conditions:

• Chronic pain
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Severe nausea
• Epilepsy and other seizure disorders
• Terminal illness
• Spasticity
• Muscle spasms
• Glaucoma
• Inflammation
• Cachexia and wasting syndrome
• Cancer
• Neuropathic pain disorders
• HIV/AIDS
• Crohn’s disease
• Anorexia and bulimia

A doctor can write a recommendation for any condition they see fit for medicinal marijuana treatment.
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First time to apply for a medical marijuana card? Let TeleLeafRX help you get started.
Contact us now!

]]> https://www.teleleafrx.com/ohio-permits-expansion-of-marijuana-dispensaries/ Fri, 08 Oct 2021 07:28:24 +0000 https://www.teleleafrx.com/?p=4181 The Ohio Department of Commerce is preparing for the increasing demand for medical marijuana by granting permits to existing cultivators to expand their medical marijuana grow space.

An Ohio medical marijuana dispensary extension will be granted to growers who have followed the state regulations and who have reported to be using the maximum amount of space permitted by the state.

Growers must also establish that there is a demand that must be met.

State Makes a Decision After The Fire Rock Lawsuit

This decision came after Fire Rock Ltd., a medical marijuana cultivator, sued the state government for not acting on its request for expansion. This was also after the state government made plans to increase the dispensaries by more than 100 percent.

Department of Commerce spokesperson Jennifer Jarrell stated in an email that this decision was the result of a review of a number of metrics for the program, with two of the factors being the current request for new dispensary licenses by the Board of Pharmacy and patient participation in the program.

This initiative should give current cultivators enough opportunity to expand their production prior to the operation of new dispensaries.

Small-Scale Medical Marijuana Cultivators Requested for Expansion

Seven small-scale medical marijuana cultivators, including Fire Rock in Akron, requested an expansion between 2019 and 2020 after they have reached the maximum 3,000 feet of marijuana grow space.

They claimed that while their products are no longer enough to supply the market, the state had granted licenses to new cultivators in addition to the initial 24.

The other six cultivators were:

• FN Group in Ravenna
• Agri-Med in Langsville
• Farkas Farms in Grafton
• Ohio Clean Leaf in Dayton
• Ancient Roots in Wilmington, and
• Galenas in Akron

Initial Denial of the Request for Expansion

After Fire Rock sued the government, the Ohio Supreme Court stepped in to order the Department of Commerce to decide on the matter, which resulted in the Department’s denial of the request.

Sheryl Maxfield, the director of the Department of Commerce, wrote to the cultivator that the Ohio medical marijuana dispensary extension request was premature due to the sufficient supply in the program.

In addition, seven cultivators that were not yet operational would account for 24% of the grow space allotted in Ohio.

New Maximum Grow Space for Medical Marijuana Cultivators

In Ohio, 20 medical marijuana cultivators are permitted to use 25,000 square feet of grow space, while 15 medical marijuana cultivators have their grow space cap at 3,000 square feet.

The state will allow expansion of up to 75,000 square feet for the larger cultivators and up to 9,000 square feet for the smaller growers. Details on the expansion request process have not yet been released.

The seven cultivators that were mentioned in the letter by the Commerce Director are still non-operational as of late.

New Dispensaries

Along with the announcement of the processing of expansion requests of existing medical marijuana grow spaces, the department also announced its decision to add 73 new dispensaries.

These dispensaries will be permitted to submit proposals that include drive-through windows.

The department is still crafting rules on how to process requests from existing dispensaries to install these new facilities.

These new policies came after the amendment of some rules to protect patients and dispensary workers during the pandemic.

A new allocation method will be decided by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy with the aim of ensuring that each dispensary in a dispensary district in Ohio will be able to address the needs of about 1,200 registered patients.

This will result in Ohio having more dispensaries per capita compared to Pennsylvania.

The state has set its initial marijuana grow space limits and dispensaries based on a population of 24,000 medical marijuana patients.

By the end of July 2021, the state had 125,000 people registered as active medical marijuana patients.

Public Cannabis Companies Expand Their Investments in Ohio

As a result of the developments in medical cannabis expansion requests in Ohio, public companies in the cannabis industry continue to increase their investments in the state.

• Jushi Holdings Inc, which owns the licensed medical marijuana processor Franklin Bioscience OH, LLC, has purchased another company called OhiGrow, LLC.
• Verano Holdings Corp purchased its fifth dispensary in Ohio.
• Cresco Labs, which was granted a license to cultivate 25,000 square feet of grow space, supplies to 88% of the existing dispensaries in the state.

Cultivators Report Slow Growth in the Medical Marijuana Industry

In 2020, after one year of being part of Ohio’s medical cannabis program, many cultivators still struggled to understand the process and to gain momentum in the industry.

Some farmers have shifted from traditional vegetable produce into cannabis cultivation hoping that their investments will pay off.

They are also expected to invest in high-grade security, with the regulators having access to their security cameras at all times.

What inspires cultivators like George Korff, Galenas CEO, is knowing that he and his team are delivering a product that benefits the patients.

He keeps learning about each plant’s unique characteristics so that he can keep them in rotation, especially to address certain medical conditions.

What’s Next?

With the Department of Commerce’s decision to process permits for the Ohio medical marijuana dispensary extension, as well as to accept applications for new dispensaries, we can expect that more patients will be able to access medical cannabis for their conditions.

The state continues to adjust its rules and regulations to accommodate the patient’s needs and to address the pandemic, and the cultivators learn more about the industry.

In time, they will be able to address the shortage and benefit from their investments.

If you’d like to find out more information related to this, TeleLeaf RX provides information on medical marijuana dispensary permits and medical cannabis patient cards. Contact us now!

]]> https://www.teleleafrx.com/puerto-rico-signed-law-protecting-medical-marijuana-patients/ Thu, 09 Sep 2021 00:00:21 +0000 https://www.teleleafrx.com/?p=3915 Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed a new law in Puerto Rico for medical marijuana patients’ employment discrimination protection.

Act No. 15-2021 (Act 15) amends Puerto Rico’s Medicinal Cannabis Act, known as Act No. 42 or the “Act to Manage the Study, Development, and Research of Cannabis for Innovation, Applicable Standards and Limits.”

Act 15 categorizes medical marijuana patients in Puerto Rico as members of a protected class under the territory’s employment protection laws.

Therefore, employers may not single out registered medical cannabis patients during their employment processes, including recruitment, hiring, resignation, termination, or disciplinary actions.

Only qualified patients benefit from this new law’s provisions. Patients must exhibit qualified medical conditions to be eligible for cannabis treatment.

Certified marijuana doctors can grant recommendations for these patients.

Act 15 Provisions

Effective immediately, Act 15 protects registered and authorized medical marijuana patients in Puerto Rico against workplace discrimination.

Employees in the medical marijuana patient registry have protections against employers who may impose disciplinary action on them based on their marijuana usage.

This law addresses the existing marijuana law’s silence on worker rights of medical marijuana patients. Before this amendment, employers had the legal right to dismiss an employee or reject an applicant who tested positive for marijuana.

With new provisions, employees or applicants identifying as registered and authorized marijuana patients can safely stay at and enter a workplace despite their status.

Accordingly, employees must establish their status as medical marijuana patients in Puerto Rico.

What Act 15 Means for Employers

Employers also receive protections from this amendment. Under Act 15 provisions, employing a person registered and authorized as a medical cannabis patient in Puerto Rico is no suitable basis for denial or penalty against benefits, contracts, licenses, or permits under Puerto Rican laws.

In other words, employers can still apply for benefits or renew contracts despite employing registered medical marijuana patients.

Official bodies may not cite a medical marijuana patient under a person’s employment as a reason for rejecting legal contracts.

Meanwhile, employers have new obligations under Act 15. Employers must revise their working practices to accommodate these new medical marijuana employment protections.

The Act requires the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources (DLHR) and the Medicinal Cannabis Regulatory Board (MCRB) to adopt and update their protocols and implement the Act’s statutes by October 27, 2021.

Exceptions to the New Law

Although no employer may discriminate against registered medical marijuana patients during their recruitment, hiring, or termination processes, the employee’s protections are not absolute under Act 15.

The new law favors the medical cannabis patient, but its provisions cannot protect a person if an employer can prove that these patients meet any of the following criteria:

• Threat of Harm: Employers who can establish that a person’s medical cannabis usage threatens or endangers people or property can cite their marijuana usage as grounds for refusing their application or terminating them.
• Poor Job Performance: Employers who gather a majority of evidence proving that a registered medical marijuana patient’s substance usage interferes with their essential job functions can dismiss them from the company.
• Potential Losses: Authorized medical marijuana patients whose medical cannabis usage exposes an employer to losses of licenses, permits, or certifications associated with any federal law, fund, program, or regulation have no protection under Act 15.
• Unauthorized Cannabis Usage: Employers must grant written authorization to registered medical marijuana patients to ingest or possess medical marijuana products in the workplace and during office hours. Act 15’s employee protections vanish once an employee uses products without employer authorization or knowledge. As such, employers must revise their working practices to accommodate the new law.

US States With Similar Protection Against Workplace Discrimination

Puerto Rico joins the many U.S. states with laws protecting qualified medical marijuana users’ employment rights.

The following states have laws prohibiting employment discrimination against workers who qualify for medical marijuana usage and treatment:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Vermont
• Virginia
• West Virginia

At the same time, Connecticut, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York have state laws protecting the employment rights of recreational marijuana users.

Similar recreational marijuana protection laws exist in the following cities:

• Atlanta, Georgia
• Isle, Minnesota
• New York City, New York
• Rochester, New York
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Richmond, Virginia
• Washington, DC

Existing Puerto Rico Medical Marijuana Regulations

Medical marijuana law in Puerto Rico has been operational since 2015. This law allows qualified patients to possess a 30-day supply of non-smokable medical cannabis product forms.

As of March 2021, there are at least 114,274 registered medical marijuana patients in Puerto Rico.

Conclusion

New workplace protections for medical cannabis patients in Puerto Rico are in place because of Act 15-2021. This new law amends the U.S. territory’s medicinal marijuana act, which did not provide employment protections for registered and authorized medical marijuana patients.

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Visit TeleLeaf RX for more information about medical marijuana legalization in your area, you may also contact us to know more about medical marijuana cards.

Sources
Puerto Rico: Law Signed Protecting Medical Cannabis Patients from Employment Discrimination

New Puerto Rico Law Expands Employment Protections for Registered and Licensed Medical Cannabis Patients

State Laws Protecting Marijuana Users’ Employment Rights

]]> https://www.teleleafrx.com/federal-agency-loosens-marijuana-grant-funding-restrictions/ Mon, 06 Sep 2021 00:00:57 +0000 https://www.teleleafrx.com/?p=3905 Despite growing acceptance within American society, psychedelics like cannabis still carry a stigma that goes beyond the social.

These substances are still prohibited or regulated heavily in a number of states. Hence, various state policies still criminalize the use, sale, procurement, and distribution of cannabis and other related psychedelic substances.

For years, many groups have lobbied for the decriminalization of cannabis usage and distribution. The lobbying has also engendered a clamor for the reduction of restrictions still in place.

Early in August 2021, funding restrictions were eased as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association announced its new policy on grants.

The new policy loosens grant restrictions on healthcare professionals and institutions that recommend and provide cannabis as medication for the treatment of mental health conditions.

Read on to learn more about the latest on this development in cannabis legislation.

Background

In the middle of June 2021, Pennsylvania recognized the federal government’s policy to withhold grant funding from institutions that provide access to medical cannabis.

The federal agency that set in motion the policy was the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association or SAMHSA.

According to the federal policy announced last June 2021, federal grant funds cannot be allocated for cannabis procurement.

In other words, healthcare professionals or institutions receiving grants cannot use any of the grant money to acquire their supply of medicinal cannabis.

This is regardless of the purpose, even if the intention is for the treatment of mental health conditions.

The stringent policy on marijuana-related grant funding has created some anxiety amongst beneficiaries. To the grant beneficiaries, the prohibition foreshadows one event — the jeopardization of funding for healthcare.

The resulting anxiety has led to consistent lobbying in areas beyond Pennsylvania, but also other pro-cannabis places like:

• Easthampton, Massachusetts
• Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Arcata, California
• New York
• Oakland, California

On the Loosening of Federal Grant Funding Restrictions SAMHSA Announced –

The loosening of restrictions announced by the SAMHSA came two months after the initial announcement of the said restrictions.

According to the SAMHSA, institutions offering medicinal cannabis for mental health treatment will still be eligible for federal grants. Needless to say, various health institutions welcome the less-radical verbiage of the SAMHSA.

Be that as it may, the SAMHSA still seems adamant in its faithfulness to the policy’s original spirit.

In other words, despite its more permissive stance towards grants, the SAMHSA maintains that institutions still cannot use grants to purchase medicinal cannabis for their patients.

While welcome news to some, the permissiveness of restrictions was viewed by others to be a “difference with no real distinction”.

More specifically, with the rules on grant allocation in place, it seemed as though the SAMHSA simply reworded its stance on the issue, presenting it to be more permissive.

Indeed, the SAMHSA announced a loosening of restrictions. However, such loosening is deemed futile. The uselessness of the said easing is highlighted by many, especially with the existing rules on where money should go.

The existing justification of the SAMHSA is that government funds provided as grants cannot be spent on substances that are deemed illegal federally.

Nonetheless, the new policy is now in effect at the time of writing, much to the chagrin of pro-cannabis healthcare professionals and advocates.

What SAMHSA Deleted from the Original Policy

The restrictions were broader in the June 2021 policy on grants. The original SAMHSA policy on grant funds consisted of two areas of restriction.

The first involved the usage of grant funds. More specifically, this half of the grant restriction policy prohibited healthcare professionals or institutions from doing the following with the grant money:

• Purchasing cannabis
• Acquiring cannabis
• Prescribing cannabis
• Distributing or dispensing cannabis

Adding to these existing sets of restrictions is the prohibition on the above-mentioned even in the absence of grant money allocation.

In other words, institutions can be removed from the grant list by performing any of the above even if no SAMHSA grant money was spent.

On August 2, Pennsylvania received a notice from SAMHSA in the form of a memo. The memo stated the new iteration of the SAMHSA grant policy.

According to the new policy, “the second half is no longer in effect”.

This means that institutions would be free within the statutes of state and federal laws to distribute, acquire, prescribe, and manufacture medicinal cannabis. However, the first half of the restriction (the one prohibiting the use of grant monies) remains in effect.

SAMHSA’s Priorities

During the press release, the SAMHSA laid bare its intentions behind its loosening of grant restrictions.

Despite its adamant retention of certain policies, the federal agency attributed its recent actions to two aims.

The priority of the SAMHSA is being involved with the behavioral health workforce. Prior to consolidating its stance on the allocation of grants, the SAMHSA announced its desire to expand the behavioral health workforce.

The SAMHSA has long recognized the staffing deficiencies in mental health institutions, offering grants as a form of help.

The other priority is to promote opportunities for patients to seek treatment. According to the SAMHSA, the grants can facilitate the creation and implementation of programs geared towards mental health and substance abuse.

For this reason, while sanctions have been eased on grants, the SAMHSA maintains its imposition of how the money should be used.

The SAMHSA’s Easing of Marijuana-Related Grant Funding Restrictions in Summary

The SAMHSA has announced where grant money can go and where it should not.

The SAMHSA has been very consistent in maintaining its anti-cannabis stance when it comes to how institutions should use the grant.

Nonetheless, beyond this, institutions have free reign over how they can administer medicinal cannabis to patients suffering from mental health conditions.

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Visit TeleLeaf RX for more information about medical marijuana legalization in your area, to know more about medical marijuana cards contact us now!

Source
Federal Agency Loosens Marijuana-Related Grant Funding Restrictions For Mental Health Treatment

]]> https://www.teleleafrx.com/oklahoma-medical-marijuana-authority-lawsuit/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 12:03:09 +0000 https://www.teleleafrx.com/?p=3845 Oklahoma legalized marijuana three years ago. Since then, the cannabis industry has raked in billions of dollars every year, but it has brought challenges as well, especially between business owners and the regulators of the marijuana industry in the state.

Recently, an Oklahoma medical marijuana authority lawsuit was filed against the marijuana regulatory agency by Ronald Durbin, an attorney who represents cannabis businesses in the state.

Complaint Focus 2019: The Seed-to-Sale System

KOSU, a member-supported public radio network operating in central Oklahoma, reported that the Oklahoma lawsuit focused on the state’s up-and-coming seed-to-sale tracking system and the vendor that was chosen to design it.

What is seed-to-sale tracking?

Seed-to-sale tracking is exactly as the name implies.

Cannabis plants are tracked from seeds through all these processes:

• Planting,
• harvesting/curing,
• manufacturing,
• testing, and
• packaging

After that, they are sold in a licensed marijuana dispensary.

How does seed-to-sale tracking work?

1. Labels or tags with identifying barcodes or QR codes are placed on the containers containing the seeds.
2. When a commercial cannabis grower uses clones instead of seeds, a tag may be hung on the plant itself as the plant matures. This step is mandated in some states.
3. For those growing marijuana indoors, tracking can be required, like in many states, when the cannabis plant is moved from room to room during the growth cycle.
4. Tracking can be done with the use of mobile scanning or reading devices, which are done by manufacturing facilities and employees in the field.
5. Each cannabis plant is followed through the entire supply chain through the label or tag with the barcode or QR code.
6. The same code is placed on the cannabis product (vape, oil, tincture, edible, topical, etc.) which was manufactured with the cannabis plant. This is to ensure that the tracking chain remains unbroken.

Why is seed-to-sale tracking important?

Seed-to-sale tracking is beneficial to all the major players in the cannabis industry—the consumers, the professionals (manufacturers, farmers, and businessmen), and the cannabis regulators.

• Consumers depend on the seed-to-sale tracking system for their health, wellness, and confidence in the use of cannabis. The tracking system protects them from contaminated cannabis products.
• Cannabis professionals use the system to help them comply with industry standards and the state laws for cannabis. Through the tracking system, they are also able to obtain optimal data, so they can improve on their cultivation practices and techniques to increase their profit.
• Cannabis regulators use the system to monitor every cannabis product at each stage of the supply chain through the final sale. It will likewise help them eradicate illicit cannabis sales and off-the-book sales.

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Metrc

The Oklahoma medical marijuana authority lawsuit included a complaint that the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority awarded the seed-to-sale tracking system contract, worth about $15 million in fees to Metrc.

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority was established to oversee the medical marijuana program for the State of Oklahoma.

Operating under the Oklahoma State Department of Health, they are responsible for licensing, regulating, and administering the program as authorized by state law.

Their primary goal is “to ensure safe and responsible practices for the people of Oklahoma”.

Metrc is a private company that provides seed-to-sale tracking services in states that have legalized marijuana. They provide a system to track all medical marijuana and medical marijuana products being grown, processed, transported, tested, and sold in the state.

Their mission is “to ensure patient access to safe medical marijuana and medical marijuana products”.

Durbin said cannabis professionals in Oklahoma were not against the seed-to-sale tracking system because many cannabis businesses have already contracted their own.

However, they argue that the version of OMMA’s contract with Metrc is more costly to the cannabis businesses in Oklahoma.

Another issue raised was that OMMA granted the contract to a single vendor that was not from Oklahoma.

New Complaint 2021: Violation of Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act

The Oklahoma lawsuit claims that the parties listed (OMMA Director Williams, her secretary, and a lot of the new members of the board of health and the food safety standard board) violated Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act.

What is Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act?

Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act requires all public bodies to file an advance notice of regularly scheduled and special meetings with the Secretary of State.

The Act requires that agendas for regular and special meetings must be posted in a publicly accessible location for at least 24 hours prior to the meeting, and agendas must identify all items of business of the meeting.

Fox 25 reported that Durbin and Rachel Bussett, co-counsel on the case, stated that OMMA did not post any agenda about approving some cannabis regulations and sending them off to the governor as emergency cannabis industry regulations.

No one in the cannabis community knew about the meeting or the agenda of the meeting. Nobody was aware of what was going on and, Bussett added, “They didn’t give the people who were making the decisions on the rules the time to really read and understand the rules that were being made.”

A dispensary owner complained about OMMA’s passing out 100 pages of new rules without notice to the industry and without public comment.

What the Oklahoma Lawsuit Seeks

According to the Cannabis Business Times, the Oklahoma lawsuit seeks to separate OMMA from the Oklahoma State Department of Health and place it under the control of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

OMMA’s Statement

In defense of OMMA’s alleged violation of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, they released a statement through Fox25 on behalf of OMMA and OSDH stating their primary goal and that they “continue to follow rules regarding public meetings and the opportunity for public comment”.

Impact of the Oklahoma Lawsuit

The message of almost 100 medical cannabis patients and medical cannabis owners to OMMA is to improve transparency. They want regulations on the cannabis industry to be done properly, appropriately, and transparently.

The Oklahoma medical marijuana authority lawsuit is teaching OMMA a lesson.

Making regulations transparent would increase their trust and confidence in how the state is ensuring safe and responsible practices in licensing, regulating, and administering medical marijuana.

For more information visit our page TeleLeaf RX or contact us today!

Source:
New lawsuit filed against Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority

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