Wild West Of Weed? Trafficking & Fraudulent Schemes In Oklahoma, What Are Authorities Doing About It?

Nearly a month after Oklahoma's Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (OBNDD) linked sex trafficking, prostitution and drug trafficking to cannabis farms, the agency served search warrants at four marijuana businesses, according to Fox 23.

"According to the tip, a person in the northeast part of the state was soliciting illicit sales of marijuana," OBN spokesman Mark Woodward said. "OBN Agents posing as black market buyers from out of state eventually made multiple purchases of marijuana tied to four medical marijuana farms in northeast Oklahoma."

As part of the search, agents seized nearly 7,000 plants, 250 pounds of processed cannabis and four guns and arrested several people. 

Bill To Stop MMJ Licenses From Same Address And Other Illegal Operations Approved By Full Senate

Meanwhile, a measure that seeks to regulate illegal operations within Oklahoma's medical cannabis industry was greenlighted by the full state Senate earlier this week, reported KFOR.

Senate Bill 806 from Sen. Brent Howard passed the chamber on a 41-1 vote after advancing through Senate Business Committee earlier this month. If enacted, the legislation would limit the number of medical marijuana businesses from using identical physical addresses on their applications.

Under the bill, those applying for a license must provide proof of residence or real estate ownership where they plan to operate a business.

With the proposal, Howard is addressing a request from Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA), the OBNDD and the Attorney General's office as they face obstacles while investigating potential illegal operations.

Judge's Ruling Exposes Shady' Ghost Ownership' Of Marijuana Farm

The latest regulatory update comes on the heels of an administrative law judge's ruling that allowed OMMA to remove a business from the state's medical cannabis industry after revealing it has submitted fraudulent information in its license renewal application, reported Tulsa World.

Considering that every business has to be at least 75% owned by an Oklahoma resident, the judge decided in accordance with OMMA rules to slash a Sayre-based cultivation licensee, Sun Light Farm.

The license holder submitted an application citing an Oklahoma resident who "is not the real owner — a practice sometimes known as straw ownership or ghost ownership."

Both OMMA and state officials praised the ruling calling it "a significant victory in the ongoing fight to eliminate bad actors in Oklahoma's cannabis industry."

The agency's investigators said over 70 businesses are currently under review for allegedly submitting fraudulent ownership documentation.

Other Regulatory Updates

Meanwhile, other bills that lawmakers are considering these days include:

• Senate Bill 166, which is on its way to House and would put cannabis grows at least one thousand feet away from a church if it gets enacted,
• Senate Bill 913, under which cannabis cultivation businesses would be required to post a $50,000 bond that could be recalled if the property ends up abandoned or if the growing license is revoked due to violation of the law, and
• House Bill 2095 would prolong a moratorium on issuing any new licenses for cannabis cultivation operations until at least Aug. 1, 2026.

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