Five marijuana businesses shut down in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Authorities Close Five Medical Marijuana Businesses Following Inspections.
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority partnered with the Kay County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement to investigate 11 complaints of medical marijuana businesses in the Ponca City area.
When they performed 19 inspections at medical marijuana shops in town, five were shut down.
“During the course of inspection, we discovered some what we believed to be illegal activity,” said Mel Woodrow, the Chief of Enforcement and Compliance at OMMA.
“And on one of those occasions, we didn’t call the cops, because we confiscated about 3,000 pounds of what we believed to be illicit marijuana on two separate occasions.”
In total, OMMA and local law enforcement agencies found about 14,000 marijuana plants and 4,850 pounds of marijuana on Sept. 11 and 13.
The five businesses that shut down in the Ponca City area were Polar Lights, JN Green Grow, DIHOW, L&L Magic Power and Zhangs Farm.
All five were originally part of a routine inspection.
“From that point, during that inspection we will generally, depending, find criminal activity that what we believe to be equivalent activity. And at that point we kind of change hats and move into more of a criminal world, criminal investigative role,” said Woodrow.
OMMA says the search is part of a new strategy to combat illicit marijuana in Oklahoma.
“So, we went up there and that was kind of our pilot program. We definitely plan to to do this around the state at these areas,” said Woodrow.
Woodrow says to continue the program, they’re investigating every complaint made on the website or by phone about anything that could be illicit marijuana in the state.
