Medical marijuana businesses in Oklahoma have until May 26 to become compliant with a Metrc seed-to-sale tracking system after a negotiated agreement to move forward.
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA), Metrc and plaintiffs in a lawsuit reached an agreement Feb. 25 that lifted a restraining order blocking the state from implementing the system, according to an OMMA bulletin.
A Tulsa MMJ business filed a lawsuit last year questioning the state’s authority to put in place a system that operators would have to pay for and claiming that Florida-based Metrc would have an unlawful monopoly.
“Lifting this injunction clears the single biggest roadblock to OMMA enforcing the law,” OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry said in a statement.
“This is a crucial step toward cracking down on licensees operating illegally or skirting the system within Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry,” Berry continued.
“Come May 27, we will focus the bulk of our enforcement authority on businesses that are not Metrc-compliant.”
As of Feb. 7, Oklahoma had 12,021 licensed MMJ businesses, including 8,137 growers, 2,232 dispensaries, 1,508 processors, 103 transporters and 29 laboratories, according to OMMA data.
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The court-ordered agreement also calls for:
- Dispensaries to sell or legally dispose of untagged medical marijuana products in their inventory by May 24.
- The OMMA to conduct at least five online seminars by May 26 to educate licensed businesses on the new seed-to-sale system.
- State MMJ regulators to ensure that adequate call-center staff is on hand to respond to questions about the implementation of the seed-to-sale program.
- The OMMA to provide updates on the program’s implementation. Licensed businesses are to be updated by email and through the OMMA’s website and social media channels.
Jeff Smith can be reached at jeff.smith@mjbizdaily.com.
