Oklahoma’s New Cannabis Industry Laws Trigger New Growth

Despite Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signing into law several new regulations for Oklahoma’s new medical marijuana industry, the overall new medical marijuana industry growth in the state is only expanding!  

By comparison, California’s new laws are making it increasingly difficult to obtain a commercial cannabis licence or pass a lab test for purity.

Media reports continue to blame Cali’s new, confusing and even contradictory laws for hurting California’s legal cannabis industry. In contrast, new additional cannabis laws in Oklahoma only seem to be having a positive effect on that state’s Marijuana business growth.

Since Oklahoma first passed the bill to legalize medical marijuana, its new medical marijuana business has grown exponentially. Sales of Marijuana in Oklahoma by February of 2019 had already hit the $7.2 million mark, which was a sharp increase from $4.3 million in January and $1 million in December at the close of 2018.

Bud Scott, executive director of the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association recently stated that,

“There is still a tremendous amount of activity and investment rolling in despite the overwhelming number of commercial licenses.”  

Once dead set against legalizing marijuana on any level as late as 2017, the state of Oklahoma is now promoting cannabis industry growth from the legislative end of things. Its willingness to make the obtainment of commercial licenses easier than most other states is just one aspect of the new legislation. Newly approved MMJ patient licences are also climbing at an unprecedented pace.

Instead of placing new barriers with each new cannabis law as California has been doing, Oklahoma is demonstrating a systematic streamlining of its initial cannabis laws, making it easier for new cannabis businesses wishing to enter the new MMJ marketplace.

Refreshingly, the Oklahoma legislature has wisely continued to lower legal barriers for entry into all sectors of the new legal MMJ industry spurring amazing growth from 2 different directions:

• First, businesses have no license caps and a low application/license fee of $2,500.
• Second, patients have no qualifying medical conditions to meet. All they need is a recommendation from a qualified physician, or a nurse practitioner (licensed and in good standing). And if so inclined, patients are now allowed to grow their own medical marijuana.

There were previous efforts to constrain Oklahoma’s new Marijuana program by banning smoking dried marijuana flowers or requiring a licensed pharmacist in each dispensary. Both public outcry and Oklahoma’s Attorney General squashed that. Oklahoma is proving itself to be a rare state in the union that is closely listening to the will of the people and responding in positive ways.

And according to statistics, Oklahoma is the only market in the United States where more grower licenses have been issued than dispensaries and processors combined!

Increasing marijuana growing licenses is the basis of Oklahoma’s new industry growth. A strong bipartisan measure known as the “unity bill” was signed into law recently. Seen as,

 “The most business-friendly medical marijuana initiatives in the country.”

The Oklahoma Daily News

it sets up clear, easy to follow rules for inventory and sales tracking, packaging and labeling (including the new, universal THC label) and product testing.

The bill isn’t intended to curb the market’s growth and will do just the opposite by requiring marijuana businesses to adhere to what are becoming top industry standards that marijuana businesses want to become compliant with.

Since Oklahoma’s legalization of marijuana went into effect in August of 2018 and the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority was formed, a quick look at the numbers for approved licenses undeniably demonstrate total and consistent governmental backing has continued to strengthen the industry:

• Growers: 2,057
• Dispensaries: 1,150
• Processors: 580
• Patients: 68,578 (Patients receive a “license” that is good for two years.)

According to The Oklahoman, Oklahoma’s largest daily newspaper,

“The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority reported that more than 80,000 patients (83,458 as of April 8, 2019) are now licensed in the state, and that the number could swell to 150,000 by the program’s first anniversary.”

As more US states look to Oklahoma as a model for cannabis-friendly legislation, the states that successfully mirror Oklahoma are realizing explosive cannabis business growth.

Oklahoma’s Positive New Cannabis Legislation Becomes A National Inspiration

At the federal level, Oklahoma’s success has been something of a surprising inspiration. Reports from the White House now show that top-level American politicians are beginning to see the prospect of how taking cannabis in all forms off Schedule 1 will not only be good for the people of America, it will also be good for our American economy.

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