2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 63. Public Health and Safety › §63-427.14v2. Medical marijuana business license - Requirements.

A. There is hereby created the medical marijuana business license, which shall include the following categories:
1. Medical marijuana commercial grower;
2. Medical marijuana processor;
3. Medical marijuana dispensary;
4. Medical marijuana transporter; and
5. Medical marijuana testing laboratory.
B. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, with the aid of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, shall develop a website for medical marijuana business applications.
C. The Authority shall make available on its website in an easy-to-find location, applications for a medical marijuana business.
D. The annual, nonrefundable application fee for a medical marijuana business license shall be Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00).
E. All applicants seeking licensure or licensure renewal as a medical marijuana business shall comply with the following general requirements:
1. All applications for licenses and registrations authorized pursuant to this section shall be made upon forms prescribed by the Authority;
2. Each application shall identify the city or county in which the applicant seeks to obtain licensure as a medical marijuana business;
3. Applicants shall submit a complete application to the Authority before the application may be accepted or considered;
4. All applications shall be complete and accurate in every detail;
5. All applications shall include all attachments or supplemental information required by the forms supplied by the Authority;
6. All applications shall be accompanied by a full remittance for the whole amount of the application fees. Application fees are nonrefundable;
7. All applicants shall be approved for licensing review that, at a minimum, meet the following criteria:
a.
twenty-five (25) years of age or older,
b.
if applying as an individual, proof that the applicant is a resident of this state pursuant to paragraph 11 of this subsection,
c.
if applying as an entity, proof that seventy-five percent (75%) of all members, managers, executive officers, partners, board members or any other form of business ownership are residents of this state pursuant to paragraph 11 of this subsection,
d.
if applying as an individual or entity, proof that the individual or entity is registered to conduct business in this state,
e.
disclosure of all ownership interests pursuant to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act, and
f.
proof that the medical marijuana business, medical marijuana research facility, medical marijuana education facility and medical marijuana waste disposal facility applicant or licensee has not been convicted of a nonviolent felony in the last two (2) years, or any other felony conviction within the last five (5) years, is not a current inmate in the custody of the Department of Corrections, or currently incarcerated in a jail or corrections facility;
8. There shall be no limit to the number of medical marijuana business licenses or categories that an individual or entity can apply for or receive, although each application and each category shall require a separate application and application fee. A commercial grower, processor and dispensary, or any combination thereof, are authorized to share the same address or physical location, subject to the restrictions set forth in the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act;
9. All applicants for a medical marijuana business license, research facility license or education facility license authorized by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act, or for a renewal of such license, shall undergo a state criminal history background check conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) within thirty (30) days prior to the application for the license including:
a.
individual applicants applying on their own behalf,
b.
individuals applying on behalf of an entity,
c.
all principal officers of an entity, and
d.
all owners of an entity as defined by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act;
10. All applicable fees charged by the OSBI are the responsibility of the applicant and shall not be higher than fees charged to any other person or industry for such background checks;
11. In order to be considered a resident of this state for purposes of a medical marijuana business application, all applicants shall provide proof of state residency for at least two (2) years immediately preceding the date of application or five (5) years of continuous state residency during the preceding twenty-five (25) years immediately preceding the date of application. Sufficient documentation of proof of state residency shall include a combination of the following:
a.
an unexpired state-issued driver license,
b.
a state-issued identification card,
c.
a utility bill preceding the date of application, excluding cellular telephone and Internet bills,
d.
a residential property deed to property in this state, and
e.
a rental agreement preceding the date of application for residential property located in this state.
Applicants that were issued a medical marijuana business license prior to August 30, 2019, are hereby exempt from the two-year or five-year state residence requirement mentioned above;
12. All license applicants shall be required to submit a registration with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control as provided in Sections 2-302 through 2-304 of this title;
13. All applicants shall establish their identity through submission of a color copy or digital image of one of the following unexpired documents:
a.
front of a state-issued driver license,
b.
front of a state-issued identification card,
c.
a United States passport or other photo identification issued by the United States government, or
d.
a tribal identification card approved for identification purposes by the Department of Public Safety; and
14. All applicants shall submit an applicant photograph.
F. The Authority shall review the medical marijuana business application; approve, reject or deny the application; and mail the approval, rejection, denial or status-update letter to the applicant within ninety (90) business days of receipt of the application.
G. 1. The Authority shall review the medical marijuana business applications and conduct all investigations, inspections and interviews before approving the application.
2. Approved applicants shall be issued a medical marijuana business license for the specific category applied under, which shall act as proof of their approved status. Rejection and denial letters shall provide a reason for the rejection or denial. Applications may only be rejected or denied based on the applicant not meeting the standards set forth in the provisions of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act and Sections 420 through 426.1 of this title, improper completion of the application, or for a reason provided for in the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act and Sections 420 through 426.1 of this title. If an application is rejected for failure to provide required information, the applicant shall have thirty (30) days to submit the required information for reconsideration. No additional application fee shall be charged for such reconsideration. Unless the Authority determines otherwise, an application that has been resubmitted but is still incomplete or contains errors that are not clerical or typographical in nature shall be denied.
3. Status-update letters shall provide a reason for delay in either approval, rejection or denial should a situation arise in which an application was submitted properly but a delay in processing the application occurred.
4. Approval, rejection, denial or status-update letters shall be sent to the applicant in the same method the application was submitted to the Authority.
H. A license for a medical marijuana business, medical marijuana research facility, medical marijuana education facility or medical marijuana waste disposal facility shall not be issued to or held by:
1. A person until all required fees have been paid;
2. A person who has been convicted of a nonviolent felony within two (2) years of the date of application, or within five (5) years for any other felony;
3. A corporation, if the criminal history of any of its officers, directors or stockholders indicates that the officer, director or stockholder has been convicted of a nonviolent felony within two (2) years of the date of application, or within five (5) years for any other felony;
4. A person under twenty-five (25) years of age;
5. A person licensed pursuant to this section who, during a period of licensure, or who, at the time of application, has failed to:
a.
file taxes, interest or penalties due related to a medical marijuana business, or
b.
pay taxes, interest or penalties due related to a medical marijuana business;
6. A sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer or prosecuting officer, or an officer or employee of the Authority or municipality;
7. A person whose authority to be a caregiver, as defined in Section 427.2 of this title, has been revoked by the Authority; or
8. A person who was involved in the management or operations of any medical marijuana business, medical marijuana research facility, medical marijuana education facility or medical marijuana waste disposal facility that, after the initiation of a disciplinary action, has had a medical marijuana license revoked, not renewed, or surrendered during the five (5) years preceding submission of the application and for the following violations:
a.
unlawful sales or purchases,
b.
any fraudulent acts, falsification of records or misrepresentation to the Authority, medical marijuana patient licensees, caregiver licensees or medical marijuana business licensees,
c.
any grossly inaccurate or fraudulent reporting,
d.
threatening or harming any medical marijuana patient, caregiver, medical practitioner or employee of the Authority,
e.
knowingly or intentionally refusing to permit the Authority access to premises or records,
f.
using a prohibited, hazardous substance for processing in a residential area,
g.
criminal acts relating to the operation of a medical marijuana business, or
h.
any violations that endanger public health and safety or product safety.
I. In investigating the qualifications of an applicant or a licensee, the Authority and municipalities may have access to criminal history record information furnished by a criminal justice agency subject to any restrictions imposed by such an agency.
J. The failure of an applicant or licensee to provide the requested information by the Authority deadline may be grounds for denial of the application.
K. All applicants and licensees shall submit information to the Authority in a full, faithful, truthful and fair manner. The Authority may recommend denial of an application where the applicant or licensee made misstatements, omissions, misrepresentations or untruths in the application or in connection with the background investigation of the applicant. This type of conduct may be grounds for administrative action against the applicant or licensee. Typos and scrivener errors shall not be grounds for denial.
L. A licensed medical marijuana business premises shall be subject to and responsible for compliance with applicable provisions consistent with the zoning where such business is located as described in the most recent versions of the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code, the International Building Code and the International Fire Code, unless granted an exemption by a municipality or appropriate code enforcement entity.
M. All medical marijuana business, medical marijuana research facility, medical marijuana education facility and medical marijuana waste disposal facility licensees shall pay the relevant licensure fees prior to receiving licensure to operate.
N. A medical marijuana business, medical marijuana research facility, medical marijuana education facility or medical marijuana waste disposal facility that attempts to renew its license after the expiration date of the license shall pay a late renewal fee in an amount to be determined by the Executive Director of the Authority to reinstate the license. Late renewal fees are nonrefundable. A license that has been expired for more than ninety (90) days shall not be renewed.
O. No medical marijuana business, medical marijuana research facility, medical marijuana education facility or medical marijuana waste disposal facility shall possess, sell or transfer medical marijuana or medical marijuana products without a valid, unexpired license issued by the Authority.
P. A medical marijuana business license holder shall require all individuals employed under their license to be issued a credential pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of this act prior to employment.
Added by Laws 2019, c. 11, § 14. Amended by Laws 2019, c. 509, § 6; Laws 2020, c. 161, § 51, emerg. eff. May 21, 2020; Laws 2021, c. 553, § 17, eff. Nov. 1, 2021; Laws 2022, c. 251, § 15, eff. Nov. 1, 2022; Laws 2022, c. 328, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2022.
NOTE: Laws 2019, c. 477, § 9 repealed by Laws 2020, c. 161, § 52, emerg. eff. May 21, 2020.