More than 72,000 pounds of illicit cannabis has been seized in Oklahoma by a law enforcement task force meant “to combat Oklahoma’s many illegal marijuana operations,” according to the state attorney general.
The office of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a news release that authorities searching a Wagoner County business on Nov. 9 found “more than 72,000 pounds of (illicit)-market marijuana inside a metal barn.”
“The seizure is among the largest in state history,” the release noted.
On the same day, an inspection at a Lincoln County medical marijuana facility found untagged cannabis in a car.
“That discovery led to the execution of another search warrant that yielded 250 pounds of illegal marijuana,” the attorney general’s office said.
AG Drummond said Oklahoma “has been overrun with criminals who are trafficking drugs in our local communities and throughout the country.”
Drummond’s office is asking Oklahomans to tip them off about illicit marijuana production.
Oklahoma’s medical marijuana market is highly oversupplied, according to a study released this year by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority.
Some MMJ licensees “contributing to oversupply are very likely adding to an illicit market,” the report noted.
Meanwhile, aided by a new law this year, state authorities have been increasing enforcement against illegal cannabis operators.
The latest raid comes not long after authorities closed five marijuana businesses and seized plants and untraceable cannabis.
Oklahoma also recently took action against medical marijuana growers with improper signage.
A ban on new MMJ licensing has been extended until 2026.