CBD Oil in Tulsa: Where Can You Find It, What Does The Law Say?

To understand whether CBD is legal, in Tulsa, we need to look at the law from federal and municipal levels, both of which will inevitably affect how the city enforces laws on weed. It is, however, noteworthy that Tulsa, like many other municipalities throughout the United States, has a right to prioritize the enforcement of laws in areas they consider more important to them. This means that CBD could be illegal at the state or federal level, but the municipal law enforcers fail to prioritize enforcement of related laws.

Another critical dynamic that we shall be looking at is the legality of different stages in the supply chain. There have been instances where governments allow possession and use of cannabis products but prohibit the sale of the same. This makes access a bit difficult and mostly dependent on the preference of law enforcers.

Much of the CBD used in the United States comes from industrial hemp, which is legal at the federal level since 2008 when President Obama signed the Farm Bill. This bill allowed the growth, research, and processing of industrial hemp. We must consider the legality of marijuana in Tulsa because some of the CBD is extracted from cannabis. The legality of weed, therefore, impacts on the legality of the CBD derived thereof.

As you can see, all these laws could be confusing as they can very well form a tangled web that is difficult to follow. We are going to look at all of the rules and the history behind them and ultimately advise you on the best way to acquire CBD without getting afoul with the law.

For a long time, Oklahoma was considered to be one of the most conservative states in the United States, where marijuana is concerned and for a good reason. Other states legalized recreational use of cannabis, and even many of those that have not legalized it have decriminalized it long before the Sooner State. The state banned this drug in 1933, and it vigorously enforced the ban through the years. To date, Oklahoma, just like the federal government, categorizes cannabis among the Schedule 1 chemical and controlled substances in Title 63 of the State Statutes.

While the laws have been loosened a bit, possession and use of recreational marijuana is still an offense that attracts penalties as follows.

• Unlicensed possession of weed up to one and a half ounces is a misdemeanor that attracts a fine of up to $400.
• Driving under the influence of marijuana attracts even stiffer penalties, including a mandatory jail term of a minimum of ten days and a maximum of one year. The jail sentences usually increase progressively with the number of offenses. Convictions for these offenses may lead to the suspension of a driving license for between six months and three years.
•  It is illegal for a person to process marijuana further, such as when making hashish or other derivatives unless they have a license in line with medical marijuana laws. We shall look at the medical marijuana laws later in detail.

The law on possession of marijuana without a license is essential to us because it applies to cannabis-derived CBD. Penalties apply even if the said oil contains less than 0.3% THC, which is the legally accepted CBD content, as we shall see later in the discussion of the law on medical marijuana.

The first attempt to have marijuana legalized in the state was by the Oklahomans for Health lobby group in 2014. The initiative sought to legalize marijuana for medical use. They were basing their recommendation on research findings that indicated that marijuana helps reduce seizures in such cases. The measure, though considered patient-driven, failed to gunner enough signatures to be put on the ballot in that year’s mid-term elections.

The following year, the lobby started the process of getting legalization of marijuana on the ballot again in the 2016 elections, which we shall talk about in a short while.

In 2015, the state legislature passed a bill allowing children with drug-resistant forms of epilepsy, such as Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gaustat Syndrome, to use marijuana in its management. Such children would be eligible to use low THC marijuana. For a child to participate, they were required to have a diagnosis from a qualified physician with whom they had a doctor-patient relationship for some time.

Meanwhile, the Oklahomans for Health lobby managed to get enough signatures to get broader legalization of medical marijuana on the ballot in 2016. This law increased access to medical marijuana not only to children with intractable epilepsy but also to adults with listed conditions in which cannabis had been found to provide relief. These conditions had to have been diagnosed by a state-authorized physician for the patient to qualify using them.  Conditions outlined in this measure included:

• Fibromyalgia
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Hepatitis C
• Spinal disease or injury
• HIV/AIDS
• Sickle cell anemia
• Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome
• Brain injury
• Chronic and severe pain
• Tourette Syndrome
• Cancer
• Ulcerative colitis
• Crohn’s disease and
• Alzheimer’s disease

This measure allowed people with any of the above conditions according to a doctor’s prescription to:

• Use cannabis legally in the state
• To legally possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana on their person
• To grow a maximum of mature plants and six seedlings for their supply
• To possess a single ounce of marijuana concentrate
• To own up to seventy-two ounces of marijuana edibles such as cookies, gummies and so on
• To possess up to eight ounces of marijuana in their primary places of residence.

It is provided in this act that counties and cities in the state may allow medical marijuana license holders to possess more weed than the guidelines in the law provide as long as they do it within the jurisdiction of the local government that allows it. The legislation, however, doesn’t allow local authorities to reduce the quantities allowed.

The law also mandated the Oklahoma Department of Health to establish a regulatory department to manage the usage, growth, and sale of marijuana. This is the department that qualifies the doctors who can recommend people for the use of medical marijuana. It is also the body that issues patients with medical marijuana cards, and it is referred to as the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA).

Unlike many jurisdictions that prohibit public smoking of marijuana even among licensed users, Oklahoma allows public smoking in all places where the public smoking of tobacco is permitted. In many municipalities, this refers to smoking bays. It is important to note that whether people can smoke publically usually depends on the regulations put in place by municipal authorities. This means that the implementation of provision for public smoking of weed depends on the policies of the municipality.

Medical marijuana cardholders from other states where the use of weed for medical purposes is legal are allowed a temporary license of 30 days. The law doesn’t provide for people who come from states where medical cannabis is not permitted. A regular medical marijuana card, on the other hand, is valid for two years, after which it has to be renewed. Prove of residency at application is required, and the law requires than applicant produce their driving license towards this end.

When a medical marijuana cardholder has been rendered immobile by the condition they have, they can get a caregiver to help them with their marijuana needs. The caretaker can possess three ounces of marijuana on them at any given time within the boundaries of the state. They are also allowed to have up to eight ounces of marijuana in their primary residence, and they can also have up to 72 ounces of marijuana edibles. Further, each caretaker is allowed to grow a maximum of six mature marijuana plants and six cannabis seedlings, which are intended to form the part of the supply.

The caregiver must be at least eighteen years old, and they should also produce proof that they are residents of Oklahoma. Neither patients nor caregivers are allowed to sell weed to others even when they have an excess. Dispensaries exclusively hold the right to sell marijuana, and we shall be discussing their licensing in a short while. In the meantime, children can also have medical marijuana cards under the following conditions.

Under this law, people who apply for a medical marijuana license must be aged above eighteen. Thus, there is no discrepancy between these regulations and the 2015 bill, which allows for children to be prescribed if they have intractable epilepsy. This measure enables children under eighteen years of age, who have any of the listed conditions to get a license. Their application should be endorsed by two doctors and a parent or other legal guardians. Physicians who sign any application must be board certified in the state.

Oklahoma allows for the completion of the marijuana supply chain by licensing dispensaries to sell marijuana. This is unlike other states such as Michigan, here the cannabis grown by licensed users is the only recognized source of supply.

To sell marijuana in Oklahoma, you need to meet certain conditions.

Applications for a license to open a dispensary is open to individuals and corporate entities. An individual applicant must show proof that they are at least 25 years old and residents of Oklahoma. A corporate entity is required to provide evidence that its owners and senior managers are residents. In the event they have some non-residents, their number must not exceed 25%.

An applicant should not have had a violence-related felony conviction in the two years preceding their application or any other sentence for the five years preceding application. Sellers are required to file their sales reports every fifteenth of the month for tax purposes. Fraudulent filings attract harsh penalties.

This bill was presented to the state senate in on February 6, 2017, by Representative Eric Proctor. It was passed and signed into law in 2018, and it enhanced the flexibility of medical marijuana cardholders. The legislation allowed the transfer of marijuana for medical use between licensed users. Thus unlike before, where it was illegal for such transfers to occur. This addition to CBD oil Oklahoma law also opened up the prescription for medical marijuana for all diseases as long as a board registered physician recommends it for a patient.

When the US Senate passed the Farm Bill of 2008, growth, processing, experimentation and use of industrial hemp products, it effectively meant that all hemp products with less than 0.3% THC were now allowed. Oklahoma accepted this and made hemp from CBD hemp legal for everyone, including people who only used it for general wellness.

Marijuana-derived hemp, on the other hand, can’t be sold to people without a medical marijuana card, and it has to follow all the rules applicable to other marijuana products. This requirement is regardless of how low the THC is.

The legislation on higher levels of government inevitably affects the rules for hemp oil in Tulsa. As earlier observed, however, state legislation allows municipalities to regulate public usage and increase the quantities that a licensed medical marijuana user and their caretakers can have in their possession at any given time. Licensed cannabis dispensaries also have to follow the procedures laid down by the city of Tulsa. In light of the above scope, Tulsa regulates the use and sale of weed as follows in its jurisdiction.

It regulates and enforces spacing requirements for medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. Processors in Tulsa must also adhere to all the food processing rules in the city. It is illegal for licensed patients to smoke weed in any indoor workplaces unless such smoking is explicitly allowed by the law. In some instances, businesses build select areas where people can smoke within their premises, thus circumventing the ban for smoking in enclosed companies. Smokers are allowed to smoke their weed in designated smoking areas in the city of Tulsa according to the “Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workplaces Act.”

As noted earlier, the sale of CBD and other medical marijuana products is legal in Oklahoma. Hemp-derived CBD is available over the counter without any preconditions. As a result of this, Oklahoma is a reasonably friendly state for CBD businesses, and Tulsa, being one of the major cities in the state, has had quite a few CBD dealers open outlets. Some of the biggest names in CBD manufacturing have also opened outlets in the city, and users can buy from these outlets.  Online platforms are also doing a good job delivering CBD to all states, including Oklahoma. We shall discuss the factors to consider when buying CBD online, but let us first discuss the outlets from which you can buy CBD in different districts of the city.

The big news for businesses across the world is how Coronavirus has ravaged businesses and the usual way of life. As the authorities have closed many companies in Oklahoma and other jurisdictions, but medical marijuana shops in Tulsa will remain open. This is because marijuana is considered an essential product in Oklahoma.

As far as the law is concerned, a bill was tabled in the state senate by Sen. Marty Quinn, which proposed that counties and municipalities be given the right to restrict or ban medical marijuana through a majority vote.  If the bill is passed, it would entirely change the medical marijuana landscape in Oklahoma.