BY THE NUMBERS BREAKING NEWS!
90 PERCENT OF THEIR PRODUCT WAS FAILING INSPECTION, OKLAHOMA PROCESSORS
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Some Oklahoma marijuana processors are expressing concern that the state’s cannabis supply is often not up to par.
Trust Me!
I'm a Lawyer BY JADE PEBWORTH
LAWS VS. REGULATIONS. ARE THEY THE SAME?
Licensing Report Growers Processors Dispensaries Transport Laboratory Waste Disposal
As of January 6th, there are 8,306 growers within our state We have 1,512 licensed processors in the state We currently have 2,238 dispensary licenses with this great state We now have 100 Transportation Licenses We have 28 licensed labs We have 9 licensed waste disposal faclities
Active Licenses: 386,561 Patients & 1,971 Caregivers
SQ788 TAX
STATE & LOCAL
SALES TAX
2019 (JAN. TO DEC.)
2019 (JAN. TO DEC.)
..................... $24,156,269
..................... $30,594,902
2020 (JAN. TO DEC.)
2020 (JAN. TO DEC.)
.................... $56,245,888
.................... $71,593,772
2021 (JAN. TO DEC.) ..................... $66,173,758
2021 (JAN. TO NOV.) ..................... $83,265,745
December - $4,925,903
November December--$6,252,699 $6,719,780
BRICKTOWN OKC
One processor in Choctaw said a few months ago, 90 percent of their product was failing inspection. 1440 Processing explains that a lot of the marijuana coming to them from marijuana growers fails to meet industry standards due to high levels of pesticides, heavy metals and other dangerous chemicals. Late last year, they said 90 percent of cannabis they bought failed lab tests.
They report spending tens of thousands of dollars testing products on their own dime to ensure quality. To get their fail rate down, 1440 significantly limited the number of growers they deal with – out of a pool of over 8,000 growers in the state. “It’s maybe at the 10 percent range now because most of the people that we invite back are people that we’ve vetted multiple times and we try not to waste our time with the people that constantly come back with more pesticides or heavy metals still in their material,” he said. General Manager Chris Manovsky added that their concern isn’t only wasted money and time, but their consumers.“They’re putting this product in their body,” he said. “We want to make certain that the products that we are putting out there are very clean and meet the standards, not only OMMA standards but 1440 standards.” Source: https://kfor.com/
N
ope. Do you really have to follow both? YES! Medical Marijuana laws were drafted and voted on in the form of State Question 788. Once passed by a vote, they became law and can be found in Oklahoma Statute Title 63 Section 420. These laws, or statutes, in Title 63, are the foundation for regulations and give the State Department of Health its power to create regulations. The statutes state, in part, that the State Department of Health (OSDH) shall receive and review applications, make information available, keep information about applicants safe, and more. The OSDH then created the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA). The OSDH is acting well within its right in delegating this oversight to the newly created OMMA. As stated in Subchapter one of the OMMA regulations, the OMMA’s purpose is to ensure the health and safety of all Oklahomans and provide reasonable and orderly regulation of medical marijuana. The OMMA is defined as the regulatory authority and a division of the OSDH. Why is this important? The OSDH got their power from the statutes in Title 63 and then they created the OMMA to deal with all things regarding medical marijuana. The OMMA is a regulatory body and operates pursuant to administrative laws because they are a state agency created by statute. They do not make laws. They simply make regulations and rules that, in theory, help (or force) people dealing in medical marijuana to follow the underlying laws. If you follow the regulations, you are following the law. If you violate a regulation, you are violating a law, in theory. The sticky part about laws and regulations is that agency regulations cannot be more restrictive than state laws. The OMMA, and other agencies, must follow the rules laid out in the Administrators Procedure Act found in Title 75 in applying their rules and regulations as well as changing them. Agency regulations can be changed more quickly than enact new state laws. There are checks on these agencies, such as the public comment period. The OMMA just wrapped up a comment hearing regarding proposed amendments and a recording of the hearing can be found on their website at https://oklahoma.gov/omma/administration/rulesregulations.html. At the end of the day, you must follow the law and in following the law you must also follow the OMMA’s rules and regulations related to medical marijuana. For questions or more info email: Jade@BICLegal.com.
- Jade
thechronicmagazine.com
FEBRUARY 2022
20
