Oregon Processing New Cannabis Industry Licenses After Three-Year Pause

The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) is processing adult-use cannabis licenses again after a three-year pause, the Bend Bulletin reports. The OLCC initially stopped processing applications for licenses to cultivate, process, and dispense cannabis in order to catch up on an applications backlog. Six months after announcing the halt, the agency said it would need an additional 14 months.

Applications submitted on or before June 15, 2018, will be processed in the order they were received, the OLCC said. However, in a statement, the agency said they are unable to accept producer license applications due to a 2019 bill that prohibits them from accepting new grower applications, the Bulletin reports. Eligible applications will be processed in a streamlined manner, the OLCC said.

Each licensee has 60 days to complete the application process once a license investigator is assigned. The OLCC is contacting potential licensees to determine their readiness to move forward on the approval timeline and if applicants are not ready, the OLCC is requesting they provide a date on which they will be ready to move forward.

Oregon’s cannabis industry has attracted national attention recently for large, illegal cannabis farms popping up in the southern part of the state. A late-season report found that 54% of Oregon hemp was “hot” – with more THC than the legal limits allow – seemingly catching law enforcement and regulators off guard. Many migrant cannabis workers in the region have reportedly been living in squalid conditions overseen by cartels and other criminal gangs.