Oklahoma House bill to pause new Marijuana licenses

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KSWO) - A recently passed Oklahoma house bill will pause new licenses to sell, grow, or process marijuana.

HB 3208 is pausing new licenses, due to a severe backlog within the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority’s database.

That moratorium was supposed to begin Monday, but was delayed until the August 26, after Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority officials admitted to making a mistake in interpreting the law.

The house bill wasn’t just passed for OMMA to play catch up, but also ensures that OMMA is weeding out people looking to take advantage of Oklahoma’s lax Marijuana laws.

Mark Woodward, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics told Media outlets that Oklahoma is the #1 supplier of Black Market marijuana across the East Coast, something that Woodward hopes this moratorium will change.

The moratorium will last until August 1, 2024, or until OMMA has caught up with all existing applications.

It does not affect any existing Marijuana sellers, growers, or producers.

Meanwhile, new Senate bill 1511 is also affecting new applicants.

Per that bill, cultivations operations must now be located at least 1,000 feet from a school or technology center.

Copyright 2022 KSWO. All rights reserved.