Over 350 new laws went into effect as of November 1, 2021. The new laws range from education and immigration reform to new medical marijuana policies.
One of the new laws could potentially affect over 50 percent of the Oklahoma population, the cost of insulin. According to the American Diabetes Association, over 14 percent of the adult population in Oklahoma have diabetes, and over 36 percent has prediabetes.
The rising cost of insulin has been an issue for millions of Americans for the past few years. Oklahoma bill HB1019 deals with this issue head on. Representative Rande Worthen–Rep., introduced the bill in February. The bill caps the copay for insulin at $1 a day. Basically, a 30-day supply will be $30 instead of $350.
Diabetes Solutions Executive Director Kim Boaz-Wilson said there is still work to be done, though. The bill only helps people with insurance.
“The population of the people who need the most help are the people who have jobs who have insurance but have high co-pays or have high deductibles,” Boaz-Wilson said in an interview with KFOR. “It’s gonna help a lot of people — it’s not gonna help everybody,” she continued. “It’s gonna help a certain percentage of people with insurances but it’s a start.”
Oklahoma HB2774 focuses on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In October 2019, the Oklahoma County Jail released an inmate who had an ICE detainer on him. Mark Myers, a representative for the Oklahoma County Jail stated that ICE took too long to pick up the inmate. The lines were blurred on the difference between holding an inmate with an ICE detainer and an inmate with a warrant for another agency.
The new bill clears up the lines for law officials. HB2774 allows ICE agents more time to take an inmate into federal custody if law officials suspect the inmate violated any immigration laws or if their citizenship status is questionable.
Of course, there are a few laws aimed at Medical Marijuana. Oklahoma HB 2646, the “Try before you buy” bill allows dispensaries to offer samples of their products to customers. Individuals with Medical Marijuana cards will now be able to smell and touch various strains of cannabis while in the dispensary. The guideline is once the sample has been touched, it is no longer available for purchase.
Dispensaries will also now be able to sell pre-rolled joints. Before the new law was passed, only licensed cannabis operations had the ability to pre-roll and package marijuana. Now, businesses will be able to roll their products in-house.
Many other laws went into effect as of November 1, 2021. To view a list of the new laws, visit https://legiscan.com/OK/ legislation/2021.