Thread by @CathJSweeney

Medical professionals are holding a press conference on some policies they said should be implemented re: medical marijuana #SQ788

Craig Jones of the Oklahoma Hospital Association said that we should look to other states, many of which place limits on the number of dispensaries allowed.

California researchers found the incidence of marijuana use/dependency-related hospitalizations increased by about 6 percent per dispensary added in a square mile. Other studies show too many dispensaries = less demand for medical, more leakage into the black market.

Dr. Jason Bingman, an addiction specialist at OSU, is talking about the negative effects of acute intoxicating, essentially what bad things happen when people are actively high. It can induce anxiety to the point of psychosis, which can exacerbate problems with schizophrenia.

Bingman: That isn’t the only problem. Users can become overly dependent. “Marijauna addiction is a condition I can diagnose.”

Brian Bush, chairman over Oklahoma’s mental health department: Ignoring health professionals will land Oklahoma in a terrible place. Also calls for limited dispensaries, ban on smokable marijuana and requiring pharmacists in dispensaries.

@KOCOBret asks if banning smokable flies in the face of #SQ788 Yes voters. Dr. Jean Hausheer The question didn’t specifically discuss smokable. “There’s definitely legal leeway.” Other doctors: There is no benefit to smoking, and this is medical.

@ReporterJanelle asks if it’s legal to remove it. Hausheer said that other states have done so.

@MegWingerter asks whether the group will continue to work with OSDH or they’re considering pushing for legislative action. Her answer wasn’t clear. She said they’re going to do what they can to get their goals achieved, explains again what they are.

Hausheer: We were against #SQ788 because there aren’t enough restrictions. We kept hearing we could add later in special session, but that clearly won’t happen. We know why. “Everyone’s up for re-election. Who wants to be known as the person who’s against the will of the people?”

@ReporterJanelle asks whether the groups would consider legal action to delay implementation. Hausheer: “I can’t say we wouldn’t. We are passionate.”

Beaman is the doctor’s name, not Bingman. He said that THC limits, which are included, are vital. The higher the THC content, the more likely you are to trigger psychosis.

Craig Jones: It bothers me that there is a sense that Oklahoma’s medical community is against medical marijuana. We’re not. “To feel we.. are trying to prevent this from happening is ludicrous.” We want to get it right, better than other states.

@apseanmurphy asks what Hausheer believes voters didn’t understand properly before voting yes. Hausheer: They heard “medical” and assumed doctors were involved in writing. “I would tell them, ‘We had nothing to do with that.’” She called the misleading nature a sham.