Oklahoma Extends Medical Cannabis Licensing Moratorium Through 2026

Oklahoma has extended its moratorium on new medical cannabis licenses until 2026, Tulsa World reports. The legislation does allow the state Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) to end the moratorium if its leadership “determines all pending licensing reviews, inspections or investigations are complete.”

The state’s moratorium has been in place for more than a year and thousands of license reviews remain pending, the report says. Michael Kimball, OMMA communications manager, told the World that it’s “hard to imagine” the moratorium ending early.

According to state data outlined by the World, 5,905 cultivation licenses were active in November 2020, which swelled to 9,178 by November 2021. When the moratorium first went into effect in August 2022, the number of active cultivation licenses had dropped to 7,167, the report says. The moratorium does not prohibit current licensees from renewing or selling their licenses.

The moratorium came as the state began cracking down on problematic medical cannabis cultivators who were accused of diverting products. The state Bureau of Narcotics in August said that over the previous two years, it had shut down more than 800 unlawful operators operating under the guise of the state medical cannabis program. Last week, OMMA said it planned to revoke the licenses of 165 cultivation facilities for failing to post signage on their property as required under a bill that took effect last year.