Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Executive Director Adria Berry responded Tuesday to a letter seeking a temporary moratorium on issuing new marijuana grower permits. The letter was sent from a coalition that includes the Oklahoma Agricultural Aviation Association, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, Oklahoma Dairy Producers Association, Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association and Oklahoma Soybean Association.

“This new industry is fundamentally changing rural Oklahoma,” the letter concludes. “An immediate moratorium on issuing permits will give time to consider appropriate and proper actions to preserve rural Oklahoma.”

Berry replied that, under current statutes, OMMA doesn’t have the authority to issue a moratorium on grower licenses, but she looks forward to working with legislators and the leaders of the associations to find a solution to their concerns.

As reported in the September 21 Seminole Producer, the letter suggested that the pause will allow OMMA to catch up with inspection of current permits along with consideration of how new and existing grower permits should be regulated. It also claims that the “seed to sale” tracking rules are currently not being enforced due to guidance by the state’s courts. It suggests that important regulatory authority issues must be addressed such as waste disposal, water availability, bonding, utility strains, ad valorem assessment and many others.

“I truly appreciate the urgency placed on OMMA by stakeholders in rural Oklahoma and the agri cultural industry to fully inspect all grow facilities,” Berry states in her reply. “It is true that rural Oklahoma has seen an unprecedented uptick in the purchase and lease of land for cannabis farming, as pointed out by the signatories to the letter.”

Berry informed the coalition that, in her first few weeks as Executive Director, her highest priority is to hire enough compliance inspectors to catch up on the current inspection backlog. She stressed that it is a matter of public health and patient safety to ensure every business licensed by OMMA, including grows, is fully inspected.

The coalition letter pointed out that, according to OMMA, 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 (6510), pork farms (1906), soybean farms (1750), cotton farms (808) and dairy farms (471).