If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that legal cannabis is booming across the United States. 13 states have legalized recreational cannabis and another 13 states have legalized medical cannabis. Oklahoma has a unique phenomenon going on with its lax requirements and free-market mentality when it comes to cannabis. There are now more Oklahoma marijuana dispensaries than dispensaries in Washington, Oregon, and Colorado combined.
The southern state now boasts over 2,000 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. This feat is even more impressive considering Oklahoma marijuana is only available to medical patients compared to the fore-mentioned states that have legalized both recreational and medical cannabis. There are also now more cannabis cultivation licenses in Oklahoma than in California.
Approximately 10% of Oklahoma’s 4 million residents are medical card holders. However, recreational cannabis doesn’t exist in the state. If you’re following the math, that’s more than one dispensary for every 200 medical patients. And the 9,000+ cultivation licenses mean there are over three full farms per dispensary. Drawing a comparison to the Washington recreational cannabis market, where there is over 600 licensed dispensaries and over 1,000 cultivators and manufacturers spread across a population of over 7 million residents.
Why is There So Much Oklahoma Marijuana?
Purchasing cannabis is only allowed for licensed medical patients. However, they hold no cap on the number of business licenses that can be distributed. Most states have stricter guidelines or a limit on licenses which can be more costly, especially when supply and demand comes into play. Essentially, all one needs to apply for a license is:
- You must be 25+ years old.
- You’ll have to prove two years residency preceding the date of application or five continuous years of the last 25 years preceding the date of application.
- Each owner and officer must provide and pass a background check. If any owner or officer has a non-violent felony in the past 2 years or a violent felony in the past 5 years, the application will be denied.
- Pay $2,500.
In other states, you could be paying upwards of $100,000-$1 million+ for just the license; and also have a much more rigorous regulatory body to comply with as well as an aggressive tax structure. The accessibility and affordability of licenses in Oklahoma have made it a haven for eager entrepreneurs to stake their claim in the green rush.
With the amount of oversupply and the small patient/consumer base, Oklahoma is estimated to be the largest supplier of cannabis on the black market (weed sold outside of the regulated system within the state) and also one of the most price competitive markets on the planet.
You can buy a gram of cannabis for $3 at a dispensary in Oklahoma while most other states have standards set at around $10 per gram. Obviously, this environment isn’t friendly to those seeking profits so there is likely a massive market correction coming to the state in the next few years.
Listen to our podcast interview with Mr. Macks in Oklahoma
(We talk about the oversupply and inevitable future in this episode.)
Listen to our podcast interview with Castio Farms in Oklahoma
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