![]() Smith and other struggling business owners say the crackdown is long overdue. ![]() The reason is that so many grows are going through evictions right now.” “Landlords don’t want dispensaries and the industrial folks don’t want cannabis. “Cannabis operators are not desirable customers,” Smith said. The reason provided: frustration with cannabis companies routinely over-stuffing dumpsters in order to save money and not paying their bills. Travis Smith, co-founder of Oklahoma City cultivator Smokey Okies, said the company’s garbage contractor recently announced that it will no longer work with weed businesses. Weed businesses are feeling the blowback, too. “We don’t have the time or resources to spend on going after people who just gave away one extra pre-roll.” “We really narrowed it down to the ones that were more egregious, that would indicate likely diversion,” said OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry in an interview. OMMA is seeking to revoke the licenses of 39 of those weed shops, while 122 others face fines. Last month, it issued violation petitions to 161 dispensaries for allegedly exceeding state limits on how much cannabis can be purchased in a single transaction. ![]() The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority has also been ramping up its enforcement capabilities over the past two years and is punishing more businesses for breaking the rules. “If you start a business, you should know all the guidelines.” “Many people in the marijuana industry didn’t do their due diligence and they should have known better,” Fetgatter said. On two different occasions, OBN agents were present when fires ignited at marijuana grow facilities.Įven though the requirement to have a Certificate of Occupancy isn’t new, there’s widespread agreement that many weed businesses aren’t compliant and won’t be able to renew their licenses. In one incident, 10,000 acres of land was set ablaze, prompting the mobilization of the National Guard to combat the fire. OBN officials say they were spurred to toughen enforcement due to at least 10 fires at marijuana manufacturing facilities since 2021. For the first time since the medical market launched five years ago, OBN is requiring that businesses provide proof that they have a valid Certificate of Occupancy for their facilities. 2 - must renew their licenses with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. That’s when all businesses - there were 10,278 as of Oct. The next big shakeup of the weed industry is poised to land on Oct. “Because it has become such a toxic issue, and people get angry with me at the Capitol over legislation, you probably won’t see my name on much marijuana industry legislation,” Fetgatter said in an interview.Ĭhris Moe canvasses in support of recreational marijuana legalization last February. Scott Fetgatter, who has worked extensively on cannabis policy, said the blowback is so severe among his fellow lawmakers and constituents that he doesn’t see any point in introducing legislation seeking to boost the medical market and help struggling business owners. The unlikely boom market has been sullied by dozens of raids on illegal cultivation sites, rampant diversion of products into the illicit market, allegations of human trafficking and grisly crimes, including a quadruple murder of Chinese nationals at a weed farm last November. Many of the problems that have plagued fledgling markets across the country are magnified in the staunchly conservative state. Oklahoma has become a cautionary tale over the past five years for the country’s experiment with marijuana legalization.
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