{"id":31318,"date":"2019-03-21T13:44:19","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T18:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=31318"},"modified":"2019-03-21T13:56:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-21T18:56:35","slug":"medical-marijuana-businesses-say-patient-drives-are-key-to-access-but-state-lawmakers-want-to-end-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2019\/03\/21\/medical-marijuana-businesses-say-patient-drives-are-key-to-access-but-state-lawmakers-want-to-end-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical marijuana businesses say patient drives are key to access, but state lawmakers want to end it"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_31319\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31319\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0664-1920x1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0664-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0664-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0664-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0664-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0664-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0664-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0664-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Red Bud dispensary in Marlow, Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Red Bud Dispensary in Marlow, Okla. looks like an Apple store, with white walls and track lighting. The dispensary is packed with people, but they aren\u2019t here to buy medical marijuana. The dispensary hasn\u2019t technically opened yet, so it doesn\u2019t even have THC products &#8211; the mainly middle-aged crowd is standing around empty glass cases. They are here for something else &#8211; a doctor\u2019s recommendation.<\/span><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/593675358&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&visal=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><!--more--><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To get a <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/omma.ok.gov\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">medical marijuana license <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in Oklahoma, patients need a recommendation from a doctor \u2014 paperwork attesting that, in their medical opinion, a patient would benefit from the drug. However, the crowd at Red Bud probably hasn\u2019t met the doctor that they are paying to see.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31321\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-31321 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0660-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0660-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0660-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0660-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0660-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0660-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0660-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0660-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Renee Harper, owner of Green Hope Wellness clinic in Moore, Okla. She brought a doctor who rents space from her for the patient drive at the Red Bud Dispensary in Marlow.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe had like 140 some names on the schedule, and then they are doing walk-ins,\u201d said Renee Harper, owner of Green Hope Wellness clinic in Moore, about an hour and a half north. She brought one of the physicians who rents space from her for this one day, pop-up style event known as a patient drive.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was going to bring two doctors but I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t, I don\u2019t know what I would have done with the other one,\u201d Harper said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s because there isn\u2019t any space. The doctor is seeing patients in what is usually a supply closet, and she\u2019s too busy to talk. People have preregistered and filled out paperwork, and as they file into the room with the doctor, they get out cash to pay for the visit. Harper says it\u2019s similar to her clinic in Moore.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe see between 90 to 100 people a day for medical marijuana recommendations. I do all the scheduling and things like that, they [the physicians] just show up and see people,\u201d Harper said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31320\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-31320 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_1034-672x420.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_1034-672x420.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_1034-1920x1200.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_1034-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_1034-150x94.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_1034-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_1034-620x388.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_1034-1727x1080.jpg 1727w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daniel Owens got a medical marijuana recommendation during the pop-up patient drive at the Red Bud dispensary.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daniel Owens drove down from Oklahoma City to get a recommendation. The doctor asked him a few questions and gave him a medical marijuana recommendation. Owens said it took between five and ten minutes.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI have some lower back pain and some issues with anxiety, and it\u2019s hard for me to sleep and I prefer to maybe try the cannabis instead of pharmaceuticals or over the counter medicines which can become habit-forming or addictive,\u201d Owens said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite having health insurance, Owens hasn\u2019t asked his primary care doctor about medical marijuana.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo, I mean I haven\u2019t been to the doctor in probably like eight years,\u201d he said.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>How much do doctors need to know to give a recommendation?<\/h4><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The medical marijuana industry in Oklahoma is booming. Data from the state tax commission shows that between November and February, medical marijuana accounted for almost $2.2 million in state and local tax collections. But as the number of approved patient licenses tops 69,000, pop-up patient drives have led to accusations that some doctors in the medical marijuana industry are churning out pill-mill style recommendations.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI would think that you are definitely expanding the bounds of a doctor-patient relationship there,\u201d said Republican State Senator Greg<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31328\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31328\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0624-1920x1396.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0624-1920x1396.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0624-672x489.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0624-768x558.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0624-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0624-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0624-620x451.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0624-1485x1080.jpg 1485w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Republican State Senator Greg McCortney<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McCortney. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a definition in law of what a doctor-patient relationship is and at some point, we probably need to have one.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Medical marijuana was approved by Oklahoma voters when <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/tag\/sq-788\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State Question 788<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> passed in June 2018, after the legislative session was over. Governor Mary Fallin, at the time,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/b1291de854ae4d56b0a20d2df1bc625e\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">refused to call<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a special legislative session. That means lawmakers are only now considering bills to harness the growing industry.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNow we\u2019re trying to put the horse back in the barn, which is difficult and it will take years to really get this, I think, to be the system that the people thought we were going to have when we voted on it,\u201d McCortney said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McCortney co-chaired the bipartisan, bicameral <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/omma.ok.gov\/legislative-working-group\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">medical marijuana legislative working group<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that helped create House Bill 2612 also known as the \u2018Unity Bill\u2019 that Governor Kevin Stitt recently signed into law. It provides a framework for testing and labeling of smokable marijuana &#8211; and is being challenged<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tulsaworld.com\/news\/local\/marijuana\/medical-marijuana-patient-sues-seeks-injunction-against-unity-bill-just\/article_4bda6def-999b-5f0c-8a9b-32c6591d7173.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0in court<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Less high profile bills are still working their way through the state legislature, and many focus on the doctor-patient relationship. McCortney\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oklegislature.gov\/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=SB759&Session=1900\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SB 759<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would bar physicians from seeing patients in commercial medical marijuana facilities, like a dispensary. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oklegislature.gov\/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=SB%20758\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another of his bills<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would give two physician licensing boards the authority to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/08\/30\/the-shadow-of-the-opioid-crisis-looms-over-doctors-considering-medical-marijuana\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">give doctors guidance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on how and when to give a medical marijuana recommendation and discipline doctors who violate related laws.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Advocates say patient drives are sparked by rural health needs<\/h4><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere is some validity to the concern that this is kind of that pill mill style of just making recommendations, but when you\u2019re limited, there are not many doctors that you can go to without fear of reprisal, then this is kind of what we\u2019re left with,\u201d said Budd Scott, executive director and attorney for the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.okcannabisassociation.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He says it\u2019s another instance of the inability of people living in rural areas to access medical care, whether that be a heart specialist or a doctor willing to discuss medical marijuana.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31322\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31322\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0690-1920x1282.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0690-1920x1282.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0690-672x449.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0690-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0690-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0690-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0690-620x414.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/03\/IMG_0690-1618x1080.jpg 1618w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Budd Scott, executive director and attorney for the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNow we wouldn\u2019t have to have those patient drives if the hospital groups and most of the main health care organizations weren\u2019t prohibiting their physicians from making these recommendations,\u201d Scott said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To alleviate the need, Scott would like to see prescriptive authority granted to more health care professionals, including advanced practice nurses, as well as telemedicine.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State lawmakers are still considering 18 bills to regulate the medical marijuana industry this session, but marijuana advocates see a more significant change on the horizon. Federally, there is increasing talk on<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/03\/16\/704086782\/john-boehner-was-once-unalterably-opposed-to-marijuana-he-now-wants-it-to-be-leg\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> both sides<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the aisle to legalize marijuana across the country, and it\u2019s likely to be a big part of the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/02\/28\/698703356\/2020-democratic-presidential-hopefuls-support-marijuana-legalization-bill\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2020 presidential campaigns<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To get a medical marijuana license in Oklahoma, patients need a recommendation from their doctor \u2014 paperwork attesting that, in their medical opinion, a patient would benefit from the drug. But what happens when there&#8217;s not a doctor in the area willing to sign off?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":31323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[1002,833,340,834],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31318"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31331,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31318\/revisions\/31331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}