Marijuana Entrepreneur In Oklahoma Wins Business License After A Year Of Waiting

“Since they were able to get me taken care of so quickly, I hope that they can do the same for others.”

By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice

After over a year of waiting on the state’s regulatory agency to approve his ownership of a medical marijuana grow, Kyle King said his license was finally approved two days after his story was publicized by Oklahoma Voice.

King, and others within the medical marijuana industry, spoke with Oklahoma Voice about a backlog of licensing renewals at the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, or OMMA.

OMMA pushed back against claims of a backlog and said in a statement that the agency is in compliance with state law and has renewed 90 percent of licenses within the required 90 business days.

“Since they were able to get me taken care of so quickly, I hope that they can do the same for others and this opens up the conversation between OMMA and business owners for a better path forward,” King said.

He said that while he’s excited his ownership is official now, he is rushing to gather the money to pay the OMMA renewal fees.

Jed Green, director of Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, said he’s seen an uptick in renewals recently, but said the backlog still exists.

“It’s good to see Kyle get immediate resolution,” he said. “However, we still have a tremendous backlog of license renewals and transfers that is stifling our businesses ability to operate.”

Felina Rivera, who manages and owns Renaissance Legal Solutions based in Oklahoma City, previously said her firm was lucky to have 30 percent to 40 percent of clients receive license renewals on time.

Rivera said two more clients recently received license renewals, but was unsure if the timing was related to the Oklahoma Voice story.

“The primary issue we see with OMMA beyond being slow to approve license renewals is an inability to get information, even when a licensee is at risk of losing their business,” Rivera said.

She said that her clients are met with “constant resistance” to producing records and the lack of transparency is “infringing on a licensee’s constitutional right to maintain a business as property.”

This story was first published by Oklahoma Voice.