 Oklahoma was set to begin a moratorium on August 1st that would halt issuing new licenses for medical cannabis producers. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, or OMMA, issued a press release stating they had made an error in their understanding of the legislature.
The date change had to do with how quickly a new bill takes effect based on the number of votes it receives. They said, “the bill itself did not earn enough votes in the Oklahoma Legislature to take effect until Aug. 26,” and as a result the moratorium cannot begin until then. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority’s Executive Director Adria Berry said they were now double-checking every piece of legislation on this matter. He added, “We hold ourselves to a high standard, and we fell short in this instance. We hope the transparency in our message today is evidence that we take seriously the trust Oklahomans place in OMMA.” The purpose of the moratorium is to help prop up the low prices in the Oklahoma cannabis market, which is harming all participants in the industry there. Republican Representative Rusty Cornwell, who first introduced the bill, said, “Since 2018, Oklahoma has seen a huge number of commercial medical marijuana grows and facilities flooding into our communities. In the initial rush to roll out a system for granting commercial licenses, we’ve failed to enforce their compliance with state law. House Bill 3208 would temporarily pause the issuance of commercial licenses so that we can confirm current operations are complying with the law." The new law will be in effect for two years, until August 2024, and will apply to cultivation, processing and retail licenses. Current licenses will not be impacted. Comments are closed.
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