Key Takeaways
- Cannabis is not legal for recreational use in Oklahoma, with a punishment of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for possession.
- Medical marijuana is legal in Oklahoma, with a possession limit for patients of up to 8 ounces in your home and 3 ounces outside of it.
- Delta-8 THC is legal in the state, and cannabis is decriminalized in Oklahoma City, punishable by just a $400 fine.
Medical marijuana is legal in Oklahoma, but weed is not legal for recreational use.
Voters in Oklahoma approved Oklahoma State Question 788 in 2018, which led to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act. This establishes the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA), and makes it legal for Oklahomans with approval from a board-certified physician to get up to 8 ounces (227 grams) of cannabis for their medical needs.
Oklahoma Cannabis Laws
Weed is legal in Oklahoma for medical use but not for recreational use. Certified medical patients can legally possess up to 8 ounces of weed in their home and up to 3 ounces on their person.
Recreational Cannabis Laws
Weed is not legal in Oklahoma for recreational users.
Oklahoma weed laws largely follow federal law, with exceptions for medical use. This means that if you’re caught with any weed, and you aren’t a certified medical patient, you will get in trouble.
There are efforts to legalize weed and some limited weed decriminalization in Oklahoma, but in general, cannabis is considered a controlled substance and its use is banned.
Penalties for Possession
The penalties for weed possession in Oklahoma are quite harsh, with the state having no widespread leniency for small amounts and even possibly punishing you for possessing paraphernalia.
- For any amount of marijuana, you can receive up to 1 year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. It’s classed as a misdemeanor. Subsequent offenses are treated the same. However, each offense carries an additional $100 special assessment trauma-care fee.
- In addition, possession of marijuana is considered a felony if it’s within 1,000 feet of a public or private school or university, a public park, or in the presence of a child under 12. This doubles the term of imprisonment, the fine or both, and carries a mandatory minimum of 50% of the sentence received.
- If you’re caught with paraphernalia, you’ll get the misdemeanor punishment listed above, of up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Medical Marijuana Laws
Medical marijuana is completely legal in Oklahoma.
Voters had the opportunity to vote on the issue in 2018, through Oklahoma State Question 788, which forms the basis of Oklahoma medical marijuana laws.
This bill basically legalized medical marijuana in the state and required lawmakers to make applications for medical marijuana licenses available within 30 days, and to establish a responsible regulatory office within 60 days. The proposal also laid out possession limits, cultivation rules and established a framework for medical dispensaries.
Medical Marijuana Patient Possession Limits
If you’re a medical marijuana patient in Oklahoma, you can legally possess up to three ounces of cannabis on your person, and up to 8 ounces at home.
These limits are for cannabis flower, though. You can also have up to an ounce of concentrated marijuana (e.g. waxes and oils) and up to 72 ounces of edibles. These limits are pretty lax for a state with such harsh recreational laws, but it does make the medical program more substantial than in some other states.
You need to buy your cannabis from a state-licensed dispensary, of which there are many (with a moratorium on new grower, dispensary and processor licenses at time of writing), provided you have your Oklahoma weed card (called a license by the state).
It’s mainly intended for over 18s, but younger patients can get a license provided they have a caregiver to purchase for them.
How to Get a Medical Marijuana Card in Oklahoma?
The Oklahoma medical marijuana laws are a bit unusual in that they don’t specify qualifying conditions in the way most similar laws do. Instead, they said that marijuana should be recommended as a treatment “according to the accepted standards a reasonable and prudent physician” would use for any other medication.
This is in many ways more flexible than most similar laws, but also makes it very dependent on the judgment of the specific doctor.
So if you’re wondering how to get your Oklahoma medical marijuana license, the first step is to see your doctor, and discuss your health issues and the possible solutions. If you both agree that medical marijuana is right for your case, your doctor will issue you a recommendation.
You can use this recommendation, along with ID, proof of residency in Oklahoma, a photo and your $100 fee (reduced to $20 for Medicare or Medicaid recipients, or veterans with 100% disability status) to apply to the OMMA.
You’ll receive a response within 14 business days, and if everything is fine with your application, your approval letter and medical marijuana license will be sent to you in the mail. It’s valid for two years.
Can You Consume in Public?
The laws around smoking or vaping in public are essentially the same as for tobacco, but for other consumption (e.g. in edibles) it is unclear, with no apparent restrictions.
The only mention of consumption in the regulations is that for smokeable or vape-able products, the same rules apply as for tobacco. If you’re found smoking in a location you can’t smoke cigarettes, you’ll receive a $500 fine (page 113).
Can You Drive Under the Influence of Weed in Oklahoma?
Like every state in the country, Oklahoma does not allow you to drive high.
In fact, the law specifically states that it is illegal to drive with any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance in your body, and it also rules out the “affirmative defense,” i.e. there are no exceptions if you’re allowed to use the substance medically.
- For a first offense, you have to have your drug (and alcohol) use assessed, and comply with any recommendations, you’ll receive between 10 days and one year in jail and you can be fined up to $1,000.
- For a second offense within 10 years, it’s considered a felony, and you’ll be placed into the custody of the Department of Corrections (for treatment or jail time, or both) for between one and five years, and receive a fine of up to $2,500.
- For a third offense (i.e. second felony offense within 10 years), you’ll get 240 hours of community service, have an ignition interlock device fitted in your car, and follow all recommendations from the drug use assessment (at your expense), or you’ll be placed in the custody of the Department of Corrections for between one and ten years and will receive a fine of up to $5,000.
- For any subsequent offenses, you’ll receive either a minimum of one year of treatment and periodic testing (at your expense), 480 hours of community service, and have an ignition interlock fitted for at least 30 days. Alternatively, you’ll be placed in the custody of the Department of Corrections for between 1 and 20 years, with a maximum fine of $5,000.
Is Delta-8 THC Legal in Oklahoma?
Delta-8 THC is legal in Oklahoma. The state used the wording of the 2018 Farm Bill in its own hemp bill, which means the only thing that’s restricted by law is delta-9 THC at concentrations of over 0.3% by dry weight.
Since delta-8 THC is a different chemical, high delta-8 products are legal in Oklahoma.
RELATED: Delta-8 THC Laws & Penalties Explained
Is Weed Decriminalized in Oklahoma?
Despite having a medical program, weed is still criminalized overall in Oklahoma.
However, you might be asking, “is weed decriminalized in Oklahoma City?” and in that case, the answer is yes.
The city council voted to reduce the penalty for simple possession (with no intent to supply) to a fine of $400. This simply removes jail time for people caught with marijuana, which is a big step in the right direction. It also caps the fine for paraphernalia to $50, which is still too much but much better than before.
Additionally, the medical bill gives a little leeway to would-be medical patients. If you can state a condition you’re using marijuana for, but don’t have a medical use license, you’ll only receive a $400 fine for possession of up to 1.5 ounces.
Is Growing Weed Legal in Oklahoma?
Growing weed is legal in Oklahoma for medical patients.
The Oklahoma medical marijuana laws state that a medical marijuana patient can have up to six mature plants (and the marijuana from them) and six seedling plants in their home, provided they have permission from the property owner and that they aren’t visible from any adjacent street.
You also can’t use potentially hazardous extraction equipment, such as butane, propane or carbon dioxide.
These are basically the only rules around growing marijuana in Oklahoma, although it is of course illegal to grow if you aren’t a medical patient.
When Will Weed Be Legal in Oklahoma? The Future Outlook
Oklahoma came close to legalizing cannabis in 2023, when advocates were able to get Question 820 on the ballot.
Unfortunately, this was defeated 62-38, and the result was ultimately a change in course for cannabis policy in the state.
The result of this was a general push from lawmakers to tighten up what they saw as the state’s relatively liberal approach to medical marijuana.
Ultimately, this combination of factors has led to oversupply and a coming collapse of the industry, with many businesses likely to close, according to Politico. Unfortunately, it appears that Oklahoma’s opportunity to legalize in 2023 was the last one state residents will get in a while.
The best hope for stoners in the state is further movement towards legalization at the federal level, but with rescheduling on the horizon, it may take some time to make more progress.
Conclusion
The Oklahoma medical marijuana program is one of the most robust in the country, with big possession limits and no restrictive list of approved conditions.
However, weed is not legal in Oklahoma for recreational use, and people can even be punished for paraphernalia alone, with harsh punishments for non-medical possession. After the failure of a ballot initiative in 2023, any changes in Oklahoma are more likely to be restrictions, not loosening of the rules.