Title
CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE O-1819-49 UPON SECOND AND FINAL READING: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AMENDING SECTIONS 14-310 OF CHAPTER 14, MUNICIPAL COURT AND AMENDING SECTION 15-110, 15-203, 15-408, 15-413 ALL IN CHAPTER 15 OFFENSES OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF NORMAN TO CONFORM TO STATE REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE PENALTIES, DEFINITION AND POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA; AND PROVIDING FOR THE SEVERABILITY THEREOF.
Body
BACKGROUND: State Question 788 was approved by voters this year which legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. City Council, in a Study Session in October considered zoning and licensing regulations regarding the manufacture, sale, and distribution of medical marijuana. City Council also asked whether City staff has considering modifying City criminal statutes to address this state law change. Accordingly, City Legal staff has prepared amendments to the penalties, definition and possession of marijuana ordinances in the City criminal codes. The proposed amendments are similar to ordinances recently approved by Oklahoma City.
DISCUSSION: Sec. 14-310(a)(2)(a) will be deleted because possession of marijuana will no longer carry the possibility of jail time.
Sec. 15-110, the definition of marijuana, has been amended to prohibit possession of any plant from the genus cannabis avoiding the possibility of other species of cannabis to be lawfully possessed. This section also states marijuana shall not include industrial hemp as defined in 2 O.S. ? 3-402 that is possessed by a licensee or an agent of a licensee pursuant to the Oklahoma Industrial Hemp Agricultural Pilot Program, 2 O.S. ? 3-401 et seq. The Industrial Hemp Agricultural Pilot Program is intended for the purpose of crop research. Industrial hemp is cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) on a dry-weight basi...
Click here for full text