The Oklahoma House passed Senate Bill 1697 on Wednesday which requires commercial medical marijuana grow applicants and existing licensees to file a $25,000 bond with the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. The measure is meant to use the bond to reclaim the property should a grow operation be abandoned.
Representative Anthony Moore is the House author for SB 1697.
“This bill is part of our effort to make sure that we have a safe and legal medical marijuana industry in Oklahoma, pursuant to what Oklahomans voted for in State Question 788,” Moore said. “When some of these businesses go up in smoke, our counties are left holding the bag for land that is difficult to reclaim and reuse for other purposes after it gets abandoned. This bill makes sure there is more accountability for those deciding to open a marijuana grow business.”
The bill also allows the OMMA to require a larger bond amount, if the probable difficulty for reclamation of the land is higher.
“In addition to more accountability, this bill will protect rural Oklahomans from expensive reclamation,” Moore added. “SB1697 has an added benefit of helping us root out illegal grow operations and discourage those who would try to skirt our laws. It’s a win for all Oklahomans and I look forward to Gov. Stitt’s approval of the legislation.”
Senator Darcy Jech, who is the Senate author, says the bill is meant to protect taxpayers from having to pick up the bill for abandoned marijuana grow operations.
“As we strengthen our medical marijuana laws to ensure only legitimate businesses are in operation, we need to make sure these business owners have some skin in the game,” Jech said. “Unfortunately, right now, businesses that shut down and walk away from their grows are leaving behind a mess that is costly for the state. By requiring a minimum $25,000 bond for each commercial grower license sought, we are ensuring that if these grows are abandoned, the state will have the funds to clean up the land and reclaim that property without it being a burden to Oklahoma taxpayers. I’m thankful my colleagues saw the necessity of this measure, and I’m excited to see it go to the governor’s desk for his consideration.”
The bill now heads to the Governor.
This Bill will not benefit the taxpayers in any way, this is a shady backroom money grab scam.
the average cost to remove greenhouses and grow equipment is very minimal, much less than $25,000 , and those costs should be the responsibility of the owner of the land that agreed to lease the land to a commercial Grow. People who own their own property or people with strictly indoor grow operations, should not be penalized for the very small number of illegal outdoor grows that “Walk away” or get shut down by the state. The number of grows that leave or get shut down is VERY small compared to the total number of grows.
This Bill is not beneficial to anyone in the State other than OMMA. and will not serve any purpose other than scamming legal business owners out of more monthly fees.
Penalizing legal grows should not be used as a tool to help the state fight illegal grows. it is NOT the State’s responsibility to “Clean up the land” it’s the Owner of the land’s responsibility.
this is borderline unconstitutional.