The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) is committed to promoting public health and safety through proper medical cannabis practices by patients and businesses. Marijuana is only legal within the framework set by state law and regulations.
OMMA has recently taken action against businesses with grievous violations such as thousands of cannabis plants being unreported, pounds of untested and untraceable cannabis being presented for sale, etc. These are not simple bookkeeping errors.
The narrative that OMMA is shutting down businesses for minor violations is simply untrue and is being used to unnecessarily spark fear among businesses acting within the law. There are thousands of businesses operating within the law to provide patients access to medical cannabis. Out of 12,653 licenses, approximately ½ of 1% have been issued emergency orders due to non-compliance.
As with any agency that regulates consumable products, OMMA has the responsibility and duty to further product safety and ensure that every step of the process from production to consumption is done in accordance with the law.
- Patients purchasing cannabis at a licensed dispensary must have confidence that the products they are consuming have been legally grown, properly processed and rigorously tested to ensure the patient’s safety. These products must also be accurately labeled to ensure patients are making informed decisions. This is why it is critical that patients only purchase cannabis products from licensed dispensaries.
- The public has an expectation that businesses producing and selling medical cannabis products are working within the law and not supporting illicit markets.
- The public also has an expectation that businesses in the cannabis industry are being operated in a manner that does not pose a threat to themselves or their communities either in the short-term or long-term.
This is why laws are enacted by the legislature and enforced by OMMA.
Here are examples from recent emergency actions:
1. A grow in Pawnee County with more than 4,500 untagged and untraceable medical cannabis plants;
2. A processor in Canadian County transferring untested medical cannabis products outside of the State inventory tracking system into the illicit market;
3. A dispensary in Oklahoma County selling untagged, untraceable medical cannabis products to non-patients;
4. A grow in Love County comingling failed medical cannabis with untested medical cannabis.
Source: oklahoma.gov