Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Wait To Sell Products

Friday is the first day dispensaries are allowed to sell medical marijuana under State Questing 788. But many dispensary owners have decided to wait.

HempRX owner Isaac Caviness said he won't sell medical marijuana in his store until he has enough time to grow it properly and have it tested by a third party to make sure it's safe.

Caviness said medical marijuana cardholders weren't allowed to start growing marijuana until late September.

"The shortest grow time for any plant that I know of would be a 45-day Autoflower,” said Caviness.

That would mean growers would not be able to start harvesting their plants for another week or two and then start the curing process.

"So legally the stores are able to possess cannabis right now to be able to sell to cardholders but cannabis can’t go through the growth process within those time frames,” Caviness said.

10/29/2018 Related Story: Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Across Oklahoma Celebrate First Day Of Legal Sales

The Oklahoma Department of Health said it is legal to have and sell medical marijuana as of Friday, but it has to originate in Oklahoma.

However, many dispensary owners in Oklahoma say they won't sell it until it passes a third-party test that test checks for pesticides, heavy metals, and anything else that could be harmful.

"The safety of cardholders that are coming in here and buying product needs to be number one. Beyond profits, beyond anything else, beyond any date that’s arbitrarily set out there," said Caviness.  

Right now, the state doesn't require third-party testing, but the Department of Health does recommend it.

"This is a new industry, so we want to do it right. We don't want to be giving law enforcement and state officials reasons they need to crack down on us in particular," Caviness said.

Caviness said he won't be selling medical marijuana in his store until around December.