Oklahoma state leaders share thoughts on 13-member marijuana panel

"The key element is going to be what comes out of the joint-committee between the House and the Senate," District 14 State Senator Frank Simpson said. That's going to be what determines what happens to 788."

Nine Republicans and four Democrats will hold public meetings on medical marijuana, Senator Greg McCortney of Ada will co-chair the group.

"The public has a very very low tolerance to mess around with the law," McCortney said.

He wants this new group to be more transparent and have publicly accessible meetings.

"[We want to ] make sure that the state does a good job of implementing what it is the people of Oklahoma voted fo," McCortney said.

Representative Dustin Roberts of Durant is also in the group.

57 percent of voters approved 788 last month.

But then the state Health Department outlawed smokeable marijuana and required a pharmacist to be on staff at each dispensary, among many other regulations.

Simpson says the Health Department overstepped.

"I think they sort of exceeded their authority and there's some questions as whether they violated the open meetings act by even addressing those issues without a public forum, and public comment to address those two," Simpson said.

"We decided instead of waiting for regular session in February we needed to start now," McCortney said.

One Ada resident is glad to see lawmakers coming together to give the people what they want.

"That is a very a good thing," Brenda Smith said. We're going from either or, one extreme to other, and they just need to get it together and regulate it and at least make it doable."