With this number of patients, there are currently 1,000 to 1,200 people recorded who are applying for a medical marijuana card each week. This is according to a report by the same source from a spokesperson of the Board of Pharmacy.

Obtaining Medical Marijuana Legally in Virginia

Virginia became the first Southern state to legalize marijuana as of July 1, 2021. There was lengthy legislation before it came to this point. To this date, a qualified medical marijuana patient can obtain medical marijuana by:

Home cultivation

You can grow the cannabis flowers yourself at home. Those 21 or older are allowed to cultivate up to four plants per household.

State-Licensed Dispensaries

You can purchase medical marijuana products from a Virginia-licensed facility. But you will need to get a medical marijuana card first.

How to Obtain a Medical Marijuana Card in Virginia

A medical marijuana card will allow you to purchase medical marijuana products from registered dispensaries across the state.

Here are the steps to medical marijuana card application in VA:

Find a registered practitioner

The Department of Health Professions is the assigned organization that gives licenses and regulates practitioners by their professional type. Look for a practitioner who maintains current registration with the Board of Pharmacy. This is a prerequisite before the practitioner can issue written certifications for medical marijuana use.

Obtain a valid written certification

The Board of Pharmacy-registered practitioner should be able to give you a valid certification that you can possess and use medical marijuana products.

Register as a Patient, Parent, or Legal Guardian

1. Go to https: //www.license.dhp.virginia.gov/apply/. Begin the registration process. You will be asked to enter your User ID and Password of your license issued by a board of the Department of Health Professions. If you do not have another type of license, click the “Register a Person” tab and do the following:

• Enter your last name and social security number.
• Complete the login registration if you are not in the licensing system. Follow directions, including entering a User ID and Password that you will need to complete the registration as a patient, parent, or legal guardian.
• Log in

2. When you see the Welcome screen, select “Initial Application” from the left menu.

3. Follow these directions once you are on the Application for Licensure screen:

• Select “Pharmaceutical Processing-Cannabis Oil” from the “Profession” dropdown.
• If you are a patient, select “Cannabis Oil-Patient” from the License Type dropdown.
• If you are a parent or legal guardian of a patient who is a minor or incapacitated adult, select “Cannabis Oil-Parent/Guardian”
• Complete the “Registered Patient For Cannabis Oil” application if you are the patient. If you are not the patient, a parent or legal guardian should complete this form.
• Select “Initial Application”
• Click “Start Application”

4. Complete the registration process. Pay the fee: $50 for patients and $25 for parents or legal guardians.

5. Scan and email the following documents to the board as plain PDF files or as pictures at: cbd@dhp.virginia.gov:

• Written certification by a registered practitioner
• Proof of residency (government-issued ID or tax receipt) of the qualifying patient and the parent or legal guardian, when applicable
• Proof of identity of the patient or parent or legal guardian (government-issued ID)
• Proof of the patient’s age (birth certificate or government-issued ID)
• A valid Virginia Driver’s License

You may also fax or mail the above documents to the following address:

Virginia Board of Pharmacy
9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300 Henrico, VA 23233
Fax: (804) 527-4472

Wait for Your Medical Marijuana Card

Processing your medical marijuana registration application will take 30 business days. If additional information is needed to process your application, you will receive an email regarding the details.

You will receive an email when your application is approved, and you will receive the registration card through mail at the address of record that you wrote on the application form.

It is estimated that it takes about 6 weeks for the state to review applications before they approve and send the medical marijuana card in Virginia.

The reason for the longer time for approval is because of the surge of interest, hence many applications that need to be reviewed.

Renew Annually

The Virginia Department of Health Professions mentioned that the online registration application must be renewed annually.

The Status of Medical Marijuana in Virginia

Erica Leone, the clinical director of VirginiaMarijuanaCard.com talked about how the legalization of medical marijuana has impacted their business. She said that the interest in the cannabis flower has skyrocketed and continues to do so.

She mentioned, “We see probably around 250 to 300 patients a week depending on the time of year. Over the course of our opening, we’ve seen 10,000 patients.”

According to the Board of Pharmacy, as reported by CBS 6 WTVR-TV, medical marijuana patients in Virginia were able to apply for a medical marijuana card beginning in August 2020.

Cannabis extracts began to be sold on October 14, 2020. In September 2020, a record of 4,727 medical marijuana patients was registered.

As of September 9, 2021, the number of registered medical marijuana patients has increased to 33,000.

It may be easier to get a medical marijuana card in Virginia because of the more lenient requirements in terms of qualifying.

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First time to apply for a medical marijuana card? Let TeleLeafRX help you get started.
Contact us now!

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/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

]]> https://www.teleleafrx.com/tribes-in-new-york-taking-lead-on-legal-marijuana/ Fri, 27 Aug 2021 06:03:50 +0000 https://www.teleleafrx.com/?p=3811 In March 2021, the use of recreational marijuana was legalized in New York State after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the cannabis legislation.

However, the state is still in the process of establishing regulations on marijuana cultivation and sales. Most recreational users will have to wait for up to 18 months before the first legal marijuana sales in New York.

Despite this, some Native American tribes are taking steps to open marijuana businesses on their reservations.

Marijuana Laws and Indigenous Tribes

The U.S. federal government recognizes Native American Indian tribes as sovereign nations. Since there are no marijuana regulations relating to these tribes, they have the inherent authority to legalize or ban cannabis within their territories.

In recent years, some indigenous tribes have pursued marijuana cultivation programs on their tribal lands. Although some have implemented lucrative programs, others face strong resistance from federal and state drug enforcement agencies.

Tribes entering the marijuana market could encounter jurisdictional issues with the federal government regarding drug-related crimes. To avoid this, tribes usually wait until surrounding states have legalized marijuana before taking action.

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe

They are one of the tribes currently leading the marijuana efforts in the state. This Indian reservation’s territory is located in northern New York.

On June 28, 2021, St. Regis Mohawk became the first Native American tribe to authorize the adult use of recreational marijuana in the state.

Under the law, dispensaries must be licensed by the tribe; while growing, processing, and sales must occur on tribal lands. Adult tribal members are allowed to grow up to twelve plants.

The recently passed cannabis ordinance followed a tribal referendum, which was held in December 2019. At the time, tribal voters approved the development of marijuana regulations and eventual adoption.

The Tribal Council considers the cannabis ordinance as “historic,” representing the first adult-use marijuana law adopted by a tribe in New York.

It is also the first in the country to license tribal members and tribal member-owned marijuana businesses. This is a unique route compared to many other tribes that often establish tribally owned and operated businesses.

The Tribal Cannabis Exchange is created to award licenses, collect fees, and facilitate testing. It will be overseen and supervised by a compliance office, the Tribal Cannabis Board.

The Exchange has already started receiving applications for marijuana licenses. While there is no specific timetable yet, sales in the territory are expected to begin before the end of the year.

The opening of businesses could have significant financial implications for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. It presents an opportunity to diversify their local economy and provide much-needed employment for tribal members.

In addition, the licensing fees can be used to support essential programs and services in the community.

Shinnecock Indian Nation

The Shinnecock Indian Nation on Long Island is another tribe taking the lead on legal marijuana. It is set to break ground on its medical marijuana facility. Retail sales for recreational marijuana are expected to begin before the year ends.

The tribe will start constructing its long-planned dispensary and wellness lounge. It also plans to pursue a medical marijuana business within tribal lands.

Following the legalization of recreational marijuana, tribal leaders are looking to set up their internal regulatory system upon an agreement of all members.

Tribal leaders hope to bring jobs and economic opportunities through marijuana sales. According to them, this can help people who have suffered due to the unfair criminalization of marijuana and also impact neighboring communities.

While the state is still setting up its regulations, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Shinnecock Indian Nation could start selling marijuana without competing with state-regulated shops.

Other Indigenous Tribes in New York

• The Onondaga Nation near Syracuse currently has no plans to authorize marijuana businesses in its tribal lands.
• The Cayuga Nation operates a USDA-approved hemp business. However, the tribe has not publicly announced plans to enter the recreational marijuana market.
• The Seneca Nation of Indians in Western New York is also operating a USDA-approved hemp business. The tribe has previously expressed its interest in expanding into recreational marijuana.
• The Oneida Indian Nation has confirmed that it is looking into the recreational marijuana business.

Tribal-State Marijuana Compacts

Indigenous tribes can enter into agreements with the state. One of the incentives of these compacts is the ability to set their own tax rates. This allows tribes to sell marijuana at a lower price than state-regulated retail shops.

Tribal-state compacts also permit tribes to operate outside their territory. Although not necessary, they can also help with jurisdictional problems at federal and state levels.

Most indigenous casinos in the state of New York are operating under compacts. Meanwhile, tribes in other states enter the marijuana business once they have reached an agreement with the state.

However, state-tribal compacts are not always free of controversies. One prominent example is the conflict between the state and tribes in California over the regulation of marijuana.

Tribes will only be allowed to operate outside of their territories if they surrender their sovereignty. The state officials also demanded tribes to submit to state regulations.

This issue occurred following the legalization of recreational marijuana in California. However, Proposition 64 or “The Adult Use of Marijuana Act” did not explain how the state government would interact with tribes.

The recreational marijuana legislation in New York gave way to the Cannabis Control Board. This regulatory board is responsible for overseeing the industry and giving authority to enter into state-tribal compacts.

Under such compacts, Indian nations or tribes in the state are authorized to manufacture, sell, distribute, transport, deliver, acquire, possess, or dispense medical or recreational marijuana.

This model for tribal-state compact has been used in other states where marijuana is legal, such as Nevada and Washington. But, it will take time until these compacts are fully established, given that the Cannabis Control Board is still not set up.

Tribal governments in New York are considering adopting a more cooperative model for tribes interested in the recreational marijuana industry.

Bottom Line

While the state is still figuring out its next steps, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Shinnecock Indian Nation are continuously moving forward to begin marijuana sales.

Now that marijuana possession is legal, these tribes are likely to attract consumers eager to purchase marijuana within their regions.

Through their initiatives, these New York tribes are setting an example for the state and other tribes looking to enter the industry.

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

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