Agricultural News
Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Encourages Temporary Freeze on New Marijuana Grower Permits
Mon, 20 Sep 2021 11:12:19 CDT
On Friday, the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association (OCA) joined a coalition of organizations requesting Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Director Adria Berry to adopt a temporary moratorium on issuing new marijuana grower permits.
The letter states, "According to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority's (OMMA) website as of September 3, there were 8,630 grower permits issued in the state of Oklahoma. According to the 2017 Agriculture Census, this exceeds the number of Oklahoma wheat farms (6,510), pork farms (1,906), soybean farms (1,750), cotton farms (808) and dairy farms (471)!"
OCA Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey shared, "Newly appointed OMMA Director Berry is doing a fantastic job. A temporary pause will give her much needed time to bring the Department up to speed on grower permit issues such as hiring more inspectors, catch up with inspections and certifications while waiting for the court to issue a decision on seed-to-sale."
In July, OCA members created comprehensive and aggressive policy related to the invasive growth of marijuana grow houses in rural Oklahoma.
"The numbers are simply overwhelming," Kelsey said. "In the upcoming legislative session, OCA policy calls for reasonable and practical proposals to modify state law regarding growing marijuana. In the meantime, a temporary pause in grower permits, would be appropriate and rational."
Joining OCA on the letter were the Oklahoma Agricultural Aviation Association, Oklahoma Dairy Producers Association, Oklahoma Sheriffs' Association, and the Oklahoma Soybean Association.
The OCA is the trusted voice of the Oklahoma Cattle Industry. OCA is the only voice that speaks solely for the cattlemen of Oklahoma and represents beef producers in all 77 counties across the state. The OCA officers, board of directors and membership encourages you to join us in our advocacy efforts to ensure less government intervention, lower taxes, and a better bottom line. For more information about OCA membership, the theft reward program or activities call 405-235-4391 or visit okcattlemen.org.
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