A new lawsuit in Oklahoma alleges that the Medical Marijuana Authority violated the state’s Open Meeting Act when it adopted new emergency regulations earlier this year without notifying the state’s cannabis industry of the meeting or holding a public comment period on the rules.
Tulsa-based attorney Ron Durbin and co-counsel Rachel Bussett claim that the medical cannabis board was formed “in secret” and then “held a secret meeting to approve some regulations, and then sent those off to the governor as emergency regulations,” according to a KOKH report.
The attorneys claim that no agenda was posted for the Medical Marijuana Authority’s meeting regarding the emergency rules and that cannabis industry stakeholders were not notified of the meeting, which Durbin and Bussett said offered regulators “little time to read and understand” the regulations that were ultimately adopted, KOKH reported.
The lawsuit seeks to separate the Medical Marijuana Authority from the Oklahoma State Department of Health and place it under the control of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, according to KOKH.
Durbin announced his plans to sue the state’s medical cannabis board July 30 at a rally at the capitol, where medical cannabis patients and other industry stakeholders gathered to call for increased transparency from the Medical Marijuana Authority, according to The Oklahoman.
Durbin is also suing the Medical Marijuana Authority in a separate lawsuit over the costs cannabis business owners could face when Oklahoma implements its seed-to-sale tracking system for the industry.
