Yesterday, Governor Stitt signed House Bill 2612, the first major legislative reform to Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program since the passage of #sq788. Commonly called “the Unity Bill,” HB 2612 will enact several major changes to Oklahoma medical marijuana law. In this post, I’ll answer a few big questions about the new statute.
1. When does the Unity Bill take effect?
As things currently stand, the Unity Bill will become law August 29, 2019.
The Unity Bill did not contain an effective-date clause, nor did it contain an emergency clause. Under article 5, § 58 of the Oklahoma Constitution, a bill without an effective-date or emergency clause becomes law 90 days from the adjournment of the Legislature that passed it; and under article 5, § 26, the Legislature must adjourn no later than 5pm on the last Friday in May.
Assuming the Legislature stays in session until the last possible date, they will adjourn on May 31. The 90-day clock begins the next day, June 1, and the 90th day after June 1 falls on August 29. (Cf. Resh, Inc. v. Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Inc., 1973 OK 81, ¶ 28.)
Note: as with everything in Oklahoma cannabis law, this could change. The Legislature could enact an amendment to HB 2612 that provides an effective date or adds an emergency clause. The Legislature could also adjourn prior to May 31, which would move the effective date forward. But for now, the Unity Bill has an effective start date of August 29.
2. Does the Unity Bill repeal 788?
No, but it does amend it. The Unity Bill is a freestanding piece of legislation that never explicitly repeals a single word of 788. In fact, although the Unity Bill grants new rulemaking powers to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the Unity Bill also requires the Department to “implement the provisions of [the Unity Bill] consistently with [788], subject to the provisions of this act.”
In other words, the Unity Bill requires the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority to take 788 as a kind of guiding principle, and unless the Unity Bill explicitly contradicts any provision of 788, 788 remains the law.
The real question, then, is whether any provision of the Unity Bill explicitly contradicts any provision of 788, and in a number of ways, the Unity Bill does exactly that.
For example, the Unity Bill says that any license granted under its terms, or under the terms of 788, “shall not be issued until all relevant local licenses and permits have been issued by the municipality[.]”
Note how the Unity Bill divides commercial medical marijuana licenses into two categories: Those granted under the Unity Bill (“UB licenses”), and those granted under 788 (“788 licenses”). Then note how the Unity Bill provides that both UB licenses and 788 licenses can no longer be granted without a condition that’s only contained in the Unity Bill. This is a substantial change from 788, and one that will apply to all commercial licenses beginning August 29. This is plainly an amendment to 788, and one that introduces an additional layer of regulatory oversight into the medical marijuana program.
3. What comes next?
A couple of things. As it stands, commercial medical marijuana licensees should be preparing for the Unity Bill to enter effect on August 29 (keeping watch on the Legislature for further developments on that front). People who have considered applying for a commercial license should be aware that the Unity Bill will introduce a number of substantive changes to the licensing requirements, and they should strongly consider filing license applications in the near-term.
Most importantly, though, anyone who’s already a licensee, or thinking about becoming a licensee, should obtain the best representation possible as soon as you can. As the Oklahoma medical marijuana program changes, you’ll need strong counsel to navigate the “system shocks” coming your way.
If you’re interested in hiring my firm to represent your company, please reach out through my website here.