It's Fall, That Means the Oklahoma Legislature Interim Studies Have Started.
Legislative committees will look at topics of interest that may influence future policy- including studies related to cannabis.
Interim Studies in the Oklahoma Legislature have kicked off, and this year the studies include some that speak to issues facing the cannabis community. They will run through November with a few each week. The studies occur in both chambers and in their respective committees, after they were approved this summer- a slightly different process for each chamber.
Per the OK Policy Institute,
Local and national experts may be invited to testify at interim study meetings. Interim studies rarely generate formal reports or recommendations, but their work can guide future legislation.
Three studies from the OK House this week pertained to the direct democratic process under which cannabis was legalized, prosecutions of medical users related to pregnancy, and hemp programs.
Dollens Ballot Initiative study
On Monday September 18th, the House Elections and Ethics Committee heard witnesses during a study led by Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City about attempts to undermine the ballot initiative process in Oklahoma, a form of direct democracy that is how SQ788 was passed with a 57% popular vote majority.
There were many speakers in this hearing, including a representative from the National Conference of State Legislatures, Cole Allen from the OK Policy Institute, Trent England of Save our States and Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, and Michelle Tilley from SQ802 and SQ820. Tilley noted that there is a fallacy promoted that “the initiative process is too easy” and mentioned HB3826 which passed in 2020 and changed the signature verification process and delayed the ballot access, and juxtaposed this with more conservative speakers’ concerns of the ‘funding’ of the process. She did go into the troubles they faced with the vendor (Western Petition Systems, owned by pollster Bill Shapard) verifying the signatures and new requirements. If you want to catch this part of the hearing it’s toward the very end in the last 30 minutes.
Tilley noted in the hearing when asked about the bidding process (none) and issues with the verification and financials, that Western Petition Systems’ contract notes the company gets $300,000 per year whether there is an active petition or not.
Other issues that came up in the hearing included campaign finance issues, and the time window of 90 days for gathering signatures, the shortest window of time in the country for states with a ballot initiative process.
Pederson and Dossett Industrial Hemp Study
Also on Monday, Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, and Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa, held an interim study to investigate rural development through industrial hemp production. Witnesses included representatives from the Department of Commerce, Oklahoma State University, Omega Thermal Solutions, WECANNA, the Oklahoma Industrial Hemp Foundation, and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF), which oversees the regulation of hemp crops in the state.
“The hemp industry is not only an opportunity for us to create more jobs and new products, but be more sustainable,” Dossett said. “During the interim study, we heard from companies and industry experts who shared how hemp can be a sustainable alternative to some agricultural crops as it requires less water and almost all the plant can be used, creating less agricultural waste. There are many uses for this crop, and I am looking forward to seeing how this industry develops in our state. I also hope to see our state’s outstanding research institutions, like OSU-Tulsa, utilized to further study this plant and its uses.”
As of this year, Oklahoma has only 21 licensed hemp growers and 22 licensed hemp processors.
Blancett’s Interim Study Exploring the Role of Law Enforcement and Pregnant Women with Substance Use Disorder
Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, also this week held an interim study that examined the use law enforcement during a pregnancy when there is a case of substance use or abuse disorder present or alleged. In recent years this is something that has reportedly seen a rise in prosecutions and mothers facing records and jail time.
This one was relatively lengthy with also a lot of data presented on slides, so it can also be viewed directly here.
This rise in prosecutions was reported on by the Marshall Project and the Frontier in 2022 as well, particularly in regards to women being prosecuted for marijuana use even when they had a patient card. . Dana Sussman, Executive Director from Pregnancy Justice, presented data from their report on this topic.
Dr. Angela Hawkins, chair of ACOG spoke on substance use disorders, about how before legalization of medical cannabis many patients were afraid to be truthful with her as a physician, and how criminalization of substance use in pregnant women can make it harder for them to seek care. And, data was presented in terms of statistics on prenatal care across pregnancies in the state and those pregnancy outcomes, and lawmakers were informed on the available services, or lack thereof and lack of funding for many of them, throughout Oklahoma particularly in rural areas. The increased reporting from healthcare providers was discussed as a correlation to the increase in some data points throughout the session.
One overall message from panelists in this study was that this continued criminalization leads to poorer outcomes. Rep. Blancett stressed approaching the topic with more nuance than lawmakers perhaps have in the past.
"Not only do these women fear seeking prenatal care or substance use treatment, if they overcome that fear and seek help, there is a profound lack of resources available when you get outside the metro areas, particularly if you are poor," she said.
Studies to Come
Upcoming in November there are still studies proposed about medical uses for cannabis—five years into medical legalization, but only months after a qualifying condition bill did not pass in the legislature, and also a study on the impact of edibles and children.
Next week on Monday there is a DUI study that may discuss cannabis related impairment and driving and and also a study that seeks to increase deputy sheriff salaries.
As more schedules are released more information will be posted on them here and in the other communities we post/share.