MJBiz - March/April 2024 - 23

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
Ohio
Regulators released proposed rules for the state's pending recreational marijuana program.
The rules cover business license fees, the application process and how medical cannabis businesses
could transition to a dual medical-adult use license.
The proposed rules come less than three months after Ohio voters overwhelmingly
approved legalizing the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana. Only days after that
vote, Gov. Mike DeWine ordered state lawmakers to make changes to the initiative.
Under the proposed rules, Level 1 cultivators would be licensed for three dispensaries and
Level 2 growers would be issued one.
Existing MMJ retailers would be issued one additional dispensary license, but operators
would be prohibited from common or controlling ownership in any cultivation or processing
business-a major restriction that is omitted for Level 1 and Level 2 cultivators.
Dispensary applicants must pay a $5,000 application fee and apply for either a dual-use or
adult-use license. Licenses would be issued via lottery.
Retailers are prohibited from operating within 1 mile of each other, one of the largest buffers
in any U.S. recreational market.
Oklahoma
The number of active cannabis licenses in Oklahoma dropped dramatically amid an oversupplied
market, a crackdown on illicit operators and a moratorium on new permits. The total
number of active licenses fell by 27.4% to 8,555 between January 2023 and January 2024,
according to The Oklahoman newspaper.
Data shared by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) shows there are:
* 4,617 active cultivation licenses, down 34.7% since the same time last year.
* 2,388 active dispensary licenses, down 13.4% year-over-year.
* 1,341 active processor licensees, a 21.2% decrease from the previous year.
* 115 active transportation licenses, down 16.7%.
Porsha Riley, OMMA's public relations manager, said the market is saturated, there is a
moratorium on new licenses and the regulator has been cracking down on noncompliant businesses,
which has drawn criticism from some operators.
Even the number of registered medical cannabis patients in the state has declined-a drop
of 11% to 332,223-since early 2022.
Oklahoma rejected a recreational legalization initiative earlier this year. The most obvious
sign of the shift is that many dispensaries in the state have shuttered, according to The
Oklahoman.
Oregon
The Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon (CIAO) wants state regulators to permanently
restrict the number of marijuana business licenses available to operators in the state, arguing
it's already too competitive for existing MJ operators to serve consumers.
There are roughly 3,000 business licensees for growing, processing and selling marijuana in
Oregon. Regulators have had a moratorium on new licenses since 2018, but the current restrictions
are scheduled to expire in April.
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission has warned that it is legally obligated to start
issuing licenses again should the moratorium expire.
CIAO board Chair Mike Getlin is proposing that more licenses be made available only if the
state's population grows. A similar proposal didn't make it through an Oregon legislative committee
last year.
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