OMMA Can Decide There’s Going to Be a Moratorium
Video Transcribed: Moratorium on new medical marijuana businesses in Oklahoma starting on August 1, 2022. I’m Oklahoma attorney James Wirth. We’re talking about a new bill that has passed and gone into law that is going to limit the number of new medical marijuana businesses for the next two years. And the bill we’re talking about is House Bill 3208. It was passed into law and signed by the governor on May 26, 2022.
And there are a couple of things that it does. First off, it grants new authority to the OMMA. That is the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. It adds one additional thing they could do, and that one additional thing is that they can declare and establish a moratorium on processing and issuing new medical marijuana business licenses pursuant to the law for an amount of time the authority deems necessary.
So one, it gives OMMA the authority to decide there’s going to be a moratorium. But the next one actually creates a new law that then mandates that they currently create a moratorium.
What it says is beginning August 1, 2022, and ending August 1, 2024, so for a two-year period, the OMMA may based on the current medical marijuana business licenses for dispensaries so on, and so forth, declare and establish a moratorium on processing and issuing new medical marijuana business licenses for dispensaries, processors, and commercial growers.
Now, the law also has some exceptions noting that it does not affect renewals, does not affect a change of ownership, or perhaps a change of location. So if it’s an existing business changing owners, changing locations, then you may be fine. Or if you’re just doing a renewal, then you should be fine.
This doesn’t affect you. However, if you’re trying to get a new business established in Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry, then you need to get that application and everything properly set up and on file before the August 1st deadline, because this is what it says.
The authority shall review and process applications for medical marijuana, and business licenses for dispensaries, processors, and commercial growers if the applications were received before August 1, 2022. So we’ve got a deadline of August 1, 2022. If you don’t get it in by then, you’ve got to wait two years once this moratorium is completed on August 1, 2024.
So if you wanted to get involved in that business, you’re probably going to want to talk to an attorney about the ramifications of this and the timing and the requirements for licensing and keeping in compliance with Oklahoma’s various laws and the administrations that enforce those laws. So talk to an attorney about that. To speak with a Tulsa Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Dispensary Attorney, you go online to makelaweasy.com.
