Patient counts have skyrocketed throughout 2019 as well, up to nearly 210,000 as of Nov. 1. That’s more than eightfold what the registries had at the end of 2018 when patient counts hovered around 25,000.
More than 5% of Oklahoma’s population is now registered as medical cannabis patients, exceeding any other program in the nation.
Oklahoma’s industry also is as close to a free-market system as there is in the U.S. cannabis industry, which has spurred the program’s red-hot start.
Under State Question 788, the bill legalizing MMJ in Oklahoma:
- There are no caps on the number of business licenses that can be awarded.
- Doctors are allowed to recommend the product for any condition they deem fit.
- Municipalities are prohibited from enacting zoning restrictions to prevent dispensaries from opening.