Oklahoma voters passed State Question 788 which legalized medical marijuana in June of 2018. Afterward, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Association (OMMA) was established under the Department of Health to carry out regulatory functions, but since the state question had to be implemented 90 days after passage, the government has had to play catch up with this fast growing industry.

Recently, there has been an uptick in the number of grow houses across Oklahoma, with some being financed through dubious means and from foreign entities. Agents from Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (OBNDD) have conducted a series of raids on medical marijuana entities operating outside the confines of the law including a raid on a rural Guthrie medical marijuana farm on Friday, April 23.

Some legislation has been introduced in an effort to curb illegal operations under the guise of medical marijuana farms.

House Bill 2272, by Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, and Rep. Josh West, R-Grove, would require medical marijuana business licensees and applicants seeking licensure to submit an attestation confirming or denying the existence of any foreign financial interests in the medical marijuana business operation, and to disclose such ownership within 60 days to the OBNDD.

Failure to submit an attestation or accompanying information within the specified period would result in revocation of their medical marijuana business license.

The measure would require the OMMA to schedule an on-site meeting and compliance inspection of dispensaries, commercial grower sites, and processing sites, beginning Sept. 1, 2021, to verify whether the licensee is actively operating or working towards operational status.

Failure to provide proof of active operation or working towards operational status within the specified time would result in the termination of medical marijuana business licenses.

Also proposed is House Bill 2674 by Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City. This bill would take OMMA out from the bureaucracy of the health department and combine OMMA with the ABLE Commission. This would allow OMMA to keep more of the money they receive in licensing fees from dispensaries and grow facilities. It would also allow more money to go into enforcement and OMMA will be able to increase the number of inspectors by the end of the year.