OK Board of Health Votes to Ban Sales of Smokeable Marijuana

Earlier this week, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed the emergency rules on a medical marijuana program that was approved by the Oklahoma Board of Health two weeks after Oklahomans voted to approve legalizing medical marijuana. Part of these rules included:

  1. Banning sales smokeable forms of medical marijuana from sale in dispensaries (i.e. flowers and leaves), and
  2. Requiring that marijuana dispensaries hire a pharmacist.

The Oklahoma Board of Pharmacy expects the pharmacist’s responsibilities at the marijuana dispensaries to be similar to the roles pharmacists currently have at retail or community pharmacies, but there is an obvious catch for licensed pharmacists hired by the marijuana dispensaries.

Marijuana remains a Schedule 1 drug and is still illegal under federal law. Therefore, any licensed pharmacist would be in violation of the federal law if they were to dispense marijuana or any other Schedule 1 drug.

Oklahoma is not the first state to legalize marijuana. Other states, such as Arkansas, have a ‘pharmacist consultant’ requirement for medical marijuana dispensaries, which was addressed on the Baer Law months ago.

In Arkansas, a medical marijuana dispensary shall appoint a ‘pharmacist consultant’ who is a pharmacist licensed with the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy (Arkansas Board) and the pharmacist consultant is expected to register as a dispensary agent and follow all procedures. Interestingly, the Arkansas Bill also protects pharmacist consultants from arrest, prosecution or penalty from the Arkansas Board or any other business or professional licensing board solely for performing their duties as a pharmacist consultant for a registered dispensary.

It is unclear if the future, permanent Oklahoma rule will protect a pharmacists from arrest, prosecution or penalty in a manner similar to the Arkansas Bill. But pharmacists licensed in Oklahoma may want to wait for a final, more detailed bill before they are hired by Oklahoma marijuana dispensaries.