Oklahoma Gov. Signs Bill to Create Medical Cannabis Training Program for Physicians

Physicians in Oklahoma will soon have to undergo training before recommending medical cannabis to patients, under a bill signed Monday by Gov. Kevin Stitt (R). Previously, the state’s rules only required physicians to be in good standing with their professional boards and consider “accepted standards a reasonable and prudent physician would follow” before making a patient recommendation for medical cannabis use. 

Under the new law, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) will collaborate with medical professional organizations to create initial training requirements and periodic refresher training programs for physicians who recommend patients to the state’s medical cannabis program. 

Stitt also vetoed a bill that would have required OMMA’s Executive Advisory Council to create a task force to research and provide recommendations on potential purchase and possession limits for medical cannabis patients.  

In his veto message, Stitt said such a task force would be akin to “holding a meeting to schedule a meeting about meetings.” 

“Creating yet another advisory group is bureaucracy dressed up as productivity. We don’t need more panels, roundtables, or reports that end up collecting dust,” Stitt wrote in his veto message. “We need action, leadership, and real solutions.”