{"id":77613,"date":"2024-08-28T10:54:29","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T18:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/08\/28\/oklahoma-medical-marijuana-industry-calls-out-regulators-over-licensing-backlog\/"},"modified":"2024-08-28T19:45:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T03:45:48","slug":"oklahoma-medical-marijuana-industry-calls-out-regulators-over-licensing-backlog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/08\/28\/oklahoma-medical-marijuana-industry-calls-out-regulators-over-licensing-backlog\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Industry Calls Out Regulators Over Licensing Backlog"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cMultiple other states have looser residency restrictions, they\u2019re a little cheaper and they\u2019re a lot more supportive than Oklahoma has been.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kyle King said he\u2019s invested $100,000 into Oklahoma\u2019s medical marijuana industry, hoping to become a licensed grower. After over a year of waiting on the state\u2019s regulatory agency to approve his ownership, he\u2019s now considering taking his business to another state.<\/p>\n

With a legislatively imposed moratorium on issuing new licenses, King has to buy an existing license from a business owner looking to sell. He invested in a growing business called GreenSight 2020 in May 2023, but said his ownership and the transfer of the license still has not been made official by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, or OMMA. In the meantime, King cannot earn any money from the business he\u2019s invested in.<\/p>\n

King said he\u2019s been checking in with OMMA on a weekly basis, but has been told he\u2019ll need to continue to wait. While King said he\u2019s been able to work other jobs to support himself, others have poured their entire retirement savings into this industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of waiting for Oklahoma,\u201d he said. \u201cMultiple other states have looser residency restrictions, they\u2019re a little cheaper and they\u2019re a lot more supportive than Oklahoma has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

King, along with others within the medical marijuana industry, blame a massive license renewal backlog at OMMA.<\/p>\n

While state law requires OMMA to approve renewals within 90 business days, cannabis advocates say hundreds of licenses are in limbo, creating a harmful situation for proprietors and prompting concerns that allowing unlicensed operations could put consumers\u2019 public safety at risk.<\/p>\n

Tasked with licensing and regulating growers, processors and dispensaries, OMMA pushed back against assertions that it is failing to renew licenses on time and is out of compliance with state law. But the agency was unable to provide Oklahoma Voice with any documentation showing how many licenses are out of date and waiting for renewal.<\/p>\n

Licensing process at a \u2018standstill\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

State law allows businesses to continue to operate while waiting for their licenses to be renewed, but Jed Green, director of Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, said allowing the dispensaries, growers and processors to essentially operate without up-to-date licenses while under review has become a \u201ccrutch\u201d for OMMA.<\/p>\n

Growers have faced the most licensing delays because the state is hoping to reduce the number of marijuana grows, he said. Green said that licensing process has come to a \u201ccomplete standstill.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that if OMMA cannot keep up with licensing, it won\u2019t be able to handle its other responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing for any state agency is to handle licensure. If you can\u2019t handle licensing businesses, you don\u2019t have any business moving on to step two, enforcement, or anything else,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Porsha Riley, a spokesperson for the OMMA, said the agency has successfully processed 90 percent of commercial licenses within the required timeframe.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the review period for each submission is typically 90 business days or less, the law permits us additional time when further review is necessary upon sending a status letter to the applicant,\u201d Riley said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma Voice submitted an open records request to OMMA requesting the number of businesses with pending license renewals as well as the date the renewal application was submitted. In response, the agency said it \u201cdoesn\u2019t maintain a\u202frecord responsive\u201d and \u201cby law cannot create them to respond to open records requests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riley said in the statement that OMMA is implementing \u201crobotic assistance\u201d into its application processing and working to be more efficient while also implementing new statutory requirements following the legislative session. She said the agency does not control changes to the law but must implement those crafted by the legislative branch.<\/p>\n

\u201cFactors outside the need for additional review that have caused delays include implementing new state laws, reviewing multiple applications from a single applicant following applicant errors and the implementation of new statutory requirements leading to a need for mass rejections,\u201d Riley said.<\/p>\n

Backlog has a \u2018chilling\u2019 effect on industry<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike Ervin helped to run the campaign for the state question that legalized medical marijuana. He said OMMA initially had 30 days to renew licenses, which he said was probably too ambitious. Now, OMMA\u2019s approval window equates to roughly four to five months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing license renewals taking a year, so that by the time your license renewal gets approved you\u2019re applying for the next license renewal,\u201d Ervin said.<\/p>\n

He said these delays create a \u201cchilling\u201d effect on the growth of the state\u2019s medical marijuana industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have uncertainty, businesses don\u2019t know how bad it could be. They don\u2019t know how to react. They don\u2019t know how to move forward,\u201d Ervin said. \u201cIf I have to wait a year, I\u2019m going to invest this money, I\u2019m going to have to pay a year of lease payments, a year of electric and water. At some point it\u2019s \u2018why would I do that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Felina Rivera, who manages and owns Renaissance Legal Solutions based in Oklahoma City, said lawmakers sent eight bills to the governor that made substantive changes to the medical marijuana industry. That\u2019s in addition to legislation passed in 2023 that the agency is still trying to implement.<\/p>\n

Rivera, who has worked within the cannabis industry for four years, said she\u2019s represented many clients experiencing licensing issues with OMMA.<\/p>\n

She said that about 30 percent to 40 percent of her clients are lucky enough to have license renewals approved within the mandated approval period. Rivera said a major issue is a lack of consistency in responses from OMMA.<\/p>\n

Rivera said that sometimes a license renewal will be sitting with OMMA under review for the full 90 business days only to be sent back right before the deadline, flagged for small errors. Rivera said she sends OMMA a letter explaining whatever was labeled as errors and resubmits the application. But then the clock for OMMA resets and the agency has the full window of time to review the license renewal application again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there has a been a disregard for the fact that, as a state that values small businesses and independent business owners, the constant changes in the legislation and the corresponding rules\u2026are having the effect of severely overburdening the people who are small mom and pop shops that are trying to follow the law and do things correctly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Consumer and safety concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert Mikos, professor of law at Vanderbilt University, said that if OMMA were to reject a license renewal and the business has been serving consumers during the review period, there could be a concern for consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cLicensing really serves as the framework for all state regulation of the cannabis industry\u2026it kind of facilitates the enforcement of all these other regulations,\u201d Mikos said.<\/p>\n

He said the causes of a backlog can vary. Sometimes there isn\u2019t true support for the industry from executive officials and sometimes the state agency is just understaffed and overwhelmed. In July, OMMA cut 10 percent of its staff, citing a need for restructuring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this drags on, that suggests that the state is behind the curve on lots of enforcement issues, then you should be concerned about consumers,\u201d Mikos said.<\/p>\n

As part of a license application, a medical marijuana business undergoes public safety and health checks.<\/p>\n

Amie Goodin, assistant professor at the University of Florida\u2019s Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, said the danger to consumers would grow if these safety checks and inspections are not continuing during the waiting period for a license renewal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile an organization is undergoing the renewal process, the intention is that they will continue to perform those required activities\u2026I do not have an understanding of how Oklahoma would be able to verify that during the process so I can\u2019t speak to whether or not it\u2019s being evaluated during the renewal process,\u201d Goodin said.<\/p>\n

Legislative approach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rep. Scott Fetgatter (R-Okmulgee) carried one of the pieces of legislation<\/a> affecting OMMA this past session. He said the law creates an advisory council which will include people from the medical marijuana industry to help OMMA work through issues with an industry perspective.<\/p>\n

Fetgatter said he works with OMMA and industry members as much as he can when working on legislation related to medical marijuana.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pulled away from working on too much marijuana legislation\u2026 It was such a toxic issue and nobody really was listening to what the industry needed to be successful,\u201d Fetgatter said. \u201cWe all work really hard with OMMA as well as the industry, to try to bridge the gap between the two.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fetgatter said he\u2019s been approached by many people complaining about a licensing backlog at OMMA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really hope OMMA gets it figured out,\u201d Fetgatter said. \u201cBecause you\u2019re causing businesses to be in a very difficult spot because their licenses are not getting renewed timely, and they\u2019re questioning, \u2018Am I allowed to do business?\u2019 It creates a lot of confusion. And the one thing that we know about industries and businesses, people need continuity. They need stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Oklahoma Voice.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Oklahoma Regulators Are Keeping Medical Marijuana Secret Shopper Program Details Secret\u2014Even From Lawmakers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Industry Calls Out Regulators Over Licensing Backlog<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\u201cMultiple other states have looser residency restrictions, they\u2019re a little cheaper and they\u2019re a lot more supportive than Oklahoma has been.\u201d By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice Kyle King said he\u2019s invested $100,000 into Oklahoma\u2019s medical marijuana industry, hoping to become a licensed grower. After over a year of waiting onContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77614,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77613\/revisions\/77614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}