One of the biggest challenges Oklahoma faced in 2021 with its nascent medical marijuana industry was enforcement.

It was both a law problem and a human problem. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority had limits in how it could enforce the rules. And even if they had that power, the agency didn’t have enough inspectors to visit every cannabis business.

OMMA is closer to realizing its staffing goals in 2022, however.

The Legislature gave the agency stronger authority to shut down noncompliant businesses. Director Adria Berry said staffing at OMMA has grown by about 75% since May, and it now has 171 employees. This is after the state Legislature beefed up funding to increase staffing levels.

Of that number, 67 work in the division that ensures businesses comply with the law.

“We do still have hiring to do,” Berry said. “We’re looking at at least 30 more compliance inspectors, and then we’ll reevaluate once we get to that number and see how many more we need.”

Whittling down businesses as numbers grew out of control

No one truly knows how many cannabis businesses there are in Oklahoma. Until last year, the state had no way to verify if a license holder was actually doing business. [Read more at The Oklahoman]