A reckoning is under way in the Oklahoma medical marijuana market.
Over a 12-month period through July 2024, the number of commercial MMJ businesses in the state decreased by nearly 40%, according to a fiscal year 2024 annual report recently published by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA).
Through July 2024, the total number of licensed MMJ operators totaled 6,937, down from 11,330 a year earlier.
Licensed medical cultivators, dispensaries and processors all experienced significant shifts over the 12-month period.
Grower permits fell to 3,645 in July 2024, down nearly 44% from 6,497 in July 2023.
Licensed dispensaries dropped 27%, from 2,852 to 2,051.
MMJ processing licenses decreased 39% from 1,792 in July 2023 to 1,092 a year later.
The licensing decline was first reported by the Tulsa World.
Meanwhile, the number of registered MMJ patients declined by 2.5% during the 12-month period, from 353,437 to 344,556.
In response to the ongoing exodus of licensed medical cannabis businesses:
- Last year, the OMMA said it planned to eliminate 10% of its workforce in a reorganization, or roughly 25-30 employees.
- In May 2023, Oklahoma lawmakers extended a moratorium on new MMJ business licenses until 2026. About a month later, the OMMA published the results of a study that concluded the state was producing 32 times more marijuana than was needed for the number of MMJ patients who were registered at the time.
