The 77 routes to cannabis business licensure in Oklahoma

There are 77 counties in Oklahoma, and 77 different sets of rules and regulations for cannabis businesses to navigate on their way to licensure.

We often get calls from folks asking if they can grow in a specific county or area. The frequency of the call proves the confusing nature of navigating a regulatory landscape that essentially has 77 different routes to obtaining a cannabis business license.

SQ 788 provided a general framework for the State’s medical marijuana program, and the OMMA acts as the regulatory authority in the state, but there is no real statewide regulatory standard to follow. While it’s written into law that “No city or local municipality may unduly change or restrict zoning laws to prevent the opening of a retail marijuana establishment,” regulatory measures are up to counties to define for themselves and some can prove more prohibitive than others. For example, Seminole County has a near 40 page handbook detailing county specific inspection requirements for grows of a certain size and they need to undergo a county inspection prior to receiving a certificate of compliance.

In addition, some cities have imposed their own ordinances ranging from reducing the amount of feet a facility can be away from a school and not operating on Sundays to levying additional permit fees to be paid to the municipality. Not all these ordinances have stood in the face of litigation or judicial review, but they do demonstrate the varying degree of difficulty in navigating the regulatory landscape in general with no statewide set of rules beyond what SQ 788 and the “Unity Bill” have defined for the program itself.

Not only is there not one statewide set of rules, there’s no statewide database of what county specific rules are. Many people in the process of applying for an OMMA business license are therefore left to navigate the process entirely on their own without a sense of where to start or what’s needed for compliance certificates.

“There are 77 counties in Oklahoma and I like to say that there are 77 different ways to get your certificate of compliance.”

-Donald E. Giess III
Founding Attorney

Successfully navigating this process often relies on experience, built-in relationships and in some cases persistence, even when not going at it on your own. At Gies Law Firm, we have helped 100s of cannabis business owners obtain their license and certificates of compliance from counties in all four corners of the state. We can help you identify the unique challenges that may arise in specific counties, from additional fees to budget for to required plans to present, and leverage our existing relationships to gather the documentation needed to submit a successful OMMA business application.

We understand the complex nature of the Oklahoma medical marijuana regulatory landscape, and we can help you navigate it with ease—whether you’re just getting started or running into issues down the road.

Contact the attorneys at Gies Law Firm today to put your application process on cruise control.