Oklahoma’s medical cannabis market, which surged amid limited regulatory restrictions and enforcement, now has a serious problem with unlicensed operators.
The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs estimates about 2,000 medical marijuana license holders obtained permits fraudulently or are using their licenses to mask illegal sales, an agency spokesperson told the Tulsa World.
Law enforcement has closed down roughly 200 illegal grow operations across the state, according to the newspaper.
In an effort to stem oversupply in the regulated medical market and trim underground sales, Oklahoma in August invoked a two-year MMJ business license moratorium.
The state, according to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, has more than 7,000 licensed growers and 1,740 processors, a considerably high amount given its population of about 4 million – roughly on par with Los Angeles.
