The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority spent three years “focusing intently on enforcement efforts, bringing the industry into compliance with OMMA rules and identifying fraudulent activity … through rigorous commercial license application review,” Executive Director Adria Berry wrote in the agency’s Fiscal Year 2024 annual report released last week.
Soon after Oklahoma voters legalized medical marijuana with passage of State Question 788 in 2018, the OMMA began approving patient and business licenses like Halloween candy.
But state lawmakers soon began enacting legislation that tightened the regulations and imposed a moratorium on processing and issuing new MMJ business licenses for four years, until Aug. 1, 2026.
Simultaneously, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control began investigating and charging “straw owners” of MMJ businesses and other “bad actors” who infiltrated the medical marijuana industry.
As a result:
• The number of licensed growers was slashed by 55% in three years and four months: from 8,184 on March 3, 2022, to 3,645 on June 30, 2024.
• The number of licensed dispensaries dropped 27% one year: from 2,852 on July 1, 2023, to 2,081 on June 30, 2024.
• The number of licensed processors fell by 39% in 12 months: from 1,792 on July 1, 2023, to 1,092 on June 30, 2024.
• Patient licenses were winnowed by nearly 10% in three years and four months: from 381,974 on March 3, 2022, to 344,556 on June 30, 2024.
During FY24 the OMMA helped law enforcement agencies seize more than 96,700 plans and 24,646 pounds of illicit marijuana; filed 1,454 administrative cases; participated in 117 investigations and assisted other regulatory agencies and law enforcement partners 265 times.
The OMMA also conducted more than 50 undercover operations in FY24 through the “Secret Shopper” program. A state law passed in 2022 requires the OMMA to employ “secret shoppers” to buy medical marijuana products from licensed dispensaries for the purpose of conducting compliance tests.
The OMMA’s budget in FY24 was $37 million, of which $27.2 million (73.5%) was for payroll; $6.1 million was information technology (computers, software contracts, printers and other equipment); $3 million was spent on office space rental, vehicle costs, administrative expenses (postage, utilities and office supplies); and $716,000 was spent to buy vehicles and equipment, uniforms, etc.
The 7% excise tax on retail sales of MMJ and MMJ products in FY24 produced a little over $51 million – more than enough to cover the agency’s budget – along with $65.74 million in state and local sales taxes.
Effective with Fiscal Year 2024, the OMMA’s budget is appropriated by the Legislature. Proceeds from the excise tax underwrite substance abuse services and common education, while the sales tax revenue is allocated to local governments and other parts of state government.
The OMMA now is devoting efforts to “build a robust Patient Services unit,” Ms.
Berry wrote. The unit will “prioritize emerging science around the use of medical cannabis, focus on patient outreach and customer service, and ensure the safety of cannabis products in Oklahoma’s medical marijuana market.”
The agency’s quality assurance lab opened recently.
The Legislature appropriated $4.9 million for the current fiscal year for the laboratory, according to an OMMA spokesperson. That included a $3.5 million appropriation for start-up costs and another recurring $1.4 million to pay for operating and personnel expenses.
“As we test more products, our goal is to hold accountable operators who prioritize profits over public health and safety,” Ms. Berry said.