New Oklahoma Bill Would Require Licensed Pharmacists to Dispense Medical Marijuana

Legislation filed today in Oklahoma’s Senate would prohibit anyone but  pharmacists licensed with the state from selling medical marijuana at a dispensary.

Senate Bill 1979 was filed today by Senator David Bullard (R), and referred to Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

According to its official summary, SB 1979 “requires any applicant for a medical marijuana dispensary license to show employment of a dispensary manager. A dispensary manager shall control and distribute the products, verify the caregiver’s or patient’s proof of identity, provide necessary education materials, and record information necessary by rule for the sale of each medical marijuana product.”

The law specifies that “Such managers shall not unlock the dispensary area or any additional storage areas for medical marijuana except in an extreme emergency…. [and they] shall be required to attend to the product at all times and wear proper identification.”

The bill defines “Dispensary manager” as “a person who is a currently licensed pharmacist in good standing with the State Board of Pharmacy and is knowledgeable in the specialized functions of medical marijuana product preparation and dispensing”.

In 2018 the state Board of Health proposed a rule to require medical marijuana dispensaries to have a pharmacist on the premises during all business hours, while not requiring the pharmacists to be the sole dispenser of the medicine.

Thank you for reading The Marijuana Herald. You can sign up for occasional news updates using the form below.