Has legal pot peaked in “Tokelahoma”? It looks like it.
Between the glut of medical marijuana causing prices to plummet and operations to close, increased laws and rules enforcement, and a moratorium on new state licenses, all numbers are down.
“Now that we’re over a year into the moratorium on new commercial licenses, we’re seeing a drop in many of our license numbers,” said Porsha Riley, public relations manager for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. “Other reasons for the drop in licensing numbers can be attributed to our increased enforcement and compliance efforts, administrative actions, a more rigorous licensing process and license surrenders.
“Another factor is the business landscape; it’s changing, and the market is saturated, as shown in the supply and demand study we commissioned last year.”
Here’s how this year started compared with the start of 2023, based on active licenses, according to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority.
- Total businesses: 8,522, down 27.4%.
- Growers: 4,617, down 34.7%.
- Dispensaries: 2,388, down 13.4%.
- Processors: 1,341, down 21.2%.
- Transportation: 115, down 16.7%.