Growers see Okla. medical marijuana industry as a model for other states, but detractors warn against lax regulations

Medical marijuana is booming in Oklahoma, and growers say other states considering legalization should consider its example. But critics say lax regulations are causing big problems.

"While Oklahoma has become a kind of nirvana for growers and producers, who enjoy a relatively low start-up cost in comparison to other states, it has some lawmakers leery because of lax regulation," Graham Lee Brewer and Alicia Victoria Lozano report for CBS News. 

In the four years since Oklahoma voters legalized medical marijuana, "dispensaries have become as ubiquitous as gas stations and churches in much of Oklahoma, where state officials have licensed more than 12,000 marijuana-related businesses and about one in 10 people now own medical-marijuana cards," CBS reports. "Officials with the overwhelmed Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority said they’ve been able to inspect only a quarter of licensed marijuana businesses so far."

Gov. Kevin Stitt said this week that the language of the ballot initiative—which he believes misled voters—has made it difficult to regulate the cannabis industry: "This is causing major problems in our communities, and we must get it under control."

"Stitt said the relatively low cost of getting a business license and the lack of a cap on the number of growers has fueled a black market in Oklahoma that may require legislation to reform," CBS reports. "Rep. Rusty Cornwell, a Republican, has introduced legislation to place a temporary moratorium on issuing licenses, citing concern that out-of-state and foreign growers are exploiting loopholes in Oklahoma’s in-state residency requirements and taking advantage of the state’s limited enforcement resources, which has opened the door for organized crime." Another issue is the strain marijuana farms put on utilities.

"So far, 37 states have adopted medical-marijuana programs, and recreational marijuana use is legal in 18 of them," Brewer and Lozano report. And advocates are hopeful that a few of the 14 states that have yet to pass laws or approve ballot initiatives allowing the use of marijuana will do so in the next year or two, including Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky." Some states considering legalization see Oklahoma as a cautionary tale. Mississippi's legislature studied Oklahoma's oversight issues before writing up a bill legalizing medical marijuana for those with debilitating medical conditions; Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill last week.