by Ashley Watts, Sports Editor
In the first year of medical marijuana being legalized, Oklahoma has had almost 150,000 applications from people wanting to receive a license to sell medical marijuana..
In 2018 Oklahoman legalized medical marijuana, and since then medical marijuana has shown good economic benefits. Not only are people opening dispensaries, but with the legalization of medical marijuana farmers are now allowed to grow hemp, doctors can prescribe patients with THC or CBD oil and restaurants are allowed to find new culinary ways to consume THC or CBD (cannabinoid) oil.
Even though medical marijuana was legalized in June 2018, there are still a lot of laws when it comes to opening a dispensary. One of the biggest laws with opening a dispensary in Oklahoma is the fact that the business owner has to follow the city’s laws. City laws differ between cities. Cities in Oklahoma are allowed to make their own laws over the distance between dispensaries and residential areas, churches and schools. The average Oklahoma law for the distance of the business and any public or private school entrance is at least 1,000 feet, but that could change with each city.
The Oklahoma regulation for medical marijuana are thorough, and answer all questions anyone could have about medical marijuana. They go on to say how to apply for a license to sell and use medical marijuana.
Unlike alcohol, medical marijuana requires the user to be 18 of age instead of 21. Even though the legal age is 18, anyone under the age of 18 can still apply for a medical marijuana prescription with the right medical forms and permission from their legal guardians. A minor patient license is valid for two years or until the patient turns 18, according to omma.ok.gov.
Dispensers for medical marijuana also have to follow a set of rules/laws. To dispense medical marijuana you need to apply for a license to sell. The process for this license is almost exactly the same as the process for a patient license; however, it costs a lot more to get a dispen-sary license.
The fee for a dispensary license is $2,500, and the dispensary has to be at least 75% owned by Oklahomans who have had a residency status for two years, according to ocolly.com. In order to apply for a license to sell the business owner must be at least 25 years of age.
The laws in Oklahoma, also allow businesses and property owners the right to prohibit the use of smokable medical marijuana.
With the legalization of medical marijuana in Oklahoma, more places and businesses are using CBD products. Doctors are finding new ways to use CBD oil in their practices and restaurants are using CBD oil in their food. CBD oil can be used for many conditions, including stress, help with sickness and addiction, help with ADHD or ADD disorders and cancer. Even animals can take edibles that contain CBD.
“I use it to help me focus and have lower stress levels,” said Mackenna Tennyson, sophomore AG and business major. “It also helps me relax and helps with soreness and pain.”
Not only does Tennyson use CBD products, but her parents also grow the crop that produces CBD oil. They also sell the crop to companies who process it into oils, dummies, smokables and lotions.
“I have used CBD products for about a year now, and I think it helps me in every way possible,” Tennyson said.
According to Tennyson and her family, CBD products don’t really have any cons. People will not get addicted to it because it does not have THC in it; therefore you can take as much as you want. CBD doesn’t give people the high feeling they get when using marijuana, and it does not show up on drug test, so anyone can use it.
Medical professionals are starting to use CBD products in place of anti-inflammatories. Some studies show that these products help with ADHD and ADD in kids and adults. CBD products can help with the side effects of treatments used for cancer and it helps manage some symptoms.
The legalization of medical marijuana has opened many doors in Oklahoma. One thing it has done is made it legal to not just grow marijuana, but to also grow hemp. Hemp is grown similar to cotton; therefore, farmers in Oklahoma have picked it up. Unlike cotton, a farmer needs to have a license to grow industrial hemp.
“It is hard to grow this crop because of the restrictions to it,” said Robert Williams, a farmer in Erick, near Elk City.
When you grow hemp you have to be careful because if it has higher than .3% of THC you will get in trouble with the law, and they will burn the field as a whole.
Not only can farmers grow hemp, but universities and colleges with plant science curriculum can apply for a license to grow industrial hemp for research.
To be able to buy medical marijuana a person needs a card. Not just anyone can get a card; there are restrictions: being an Oklahoma resident and the resident must have a medical use for needing medical marijuana.
There is also a small fee you have to pay when you apply. The fee to apply for a card is $100. You will pay this fee to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, ahead of time, in order to apply for the card. With the card a person can only buy 3 ounces of medical marijuana.
After submitting your application, it takes up to 15 business days to approve your application and send out your card if you were approved.
“My medical marijuana card was relatively easy to get,” said AJ Madden, a resident in Alva with a prescription card.
Medical marijuana can be used for many different things, but it can also be abused by people.
Medical marijuana has different strains that help with different symptoms. Strains are dif-ferent breeds of cannabis. Usually it is split up into three categories: indica, sativa and hybrid. Indica is believed to have a relaxing effect on the user.
Sativa has a more of an energizing effect, while hybrid is a combination of indica and sativa, according to healthine.com. Not only do they have different strains, but there is also different flavors.
A number of research students have found that cannabis has the potential to help with a variety of medicals conditions, including anxiety, chronic pain and even epilepsy, healthiness.com reported. When using medical marijuana, it is good to do research on the effects of using canna-bis.
“Medical marijuana helps me with anxiety, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis,” Mad-den said. “I use indica with my anxiety, to help sleep and to help with the pain from fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. I use sativa to help with depression, and I use hybrids during the day to keep me motivated.”
Although Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana in 2018, some people still judge others who use cannabis.
“I think people judge when they find out you use cannabis,” Madden said. “Its unfortunate, but I feel that it will only change once the use of cannabis is normalized. People don’t agree with its legal use, and that’s okay. We just need to coexist.”