The Oklahoma cannabis industry has exploded. There are over ten thousand licensed cannabis businesses, which include retail dispensaries, growers, and processors. Oklahoma has become a hotbed for aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs. Unlike most other states with medical programs, where only a small handful of operators grow all of the cannabis for the state, Oklahoma is dominated by thousands of small batch, micro grows. Even the larger grows within the state pale in comparison to the multi-state operators that control the rest of the country’s medical cannabis markets.
So if you buy your weed in Oklahoma, chances are it was grown by a small business, closely-held company, or family grow operation, similar to Smokey Okies Cannabis. The mega-grows that are run by management companies and owned by outside investors are few and far between in Oklahoma.
Given that your average grower is an individual or a small group, there are bound to be questions about the rules and regulations surrounding growing and selling legal weed in Oklahoma. This article will help clear the air around how to transfer, transport, and sell your weed to a local dispensary. You can read or watch the video, below, or on YouTube.
Cannabis Growers must follow certain rules when selling to dispensaries in Oklahoma
Unlike virtually any other business, cannabis businesses have very specific rules that govern every aspect of a sales transaction, from record keeping to packaging, labeling, transporting, and documentation of the final confirmation of the sale.
Most businesses that sell products do not have a giant list of rules and regulations that must be followed to a “t” during every transaction, but alas, that is the reality of being a modern day (legal) cannabis cultivator.
We’ve previously written that dispensaries should only work with trustworthy growers. In this article, we will explain how Growers can build that trust by exemplifying high professional standards in their cultivation business.
#1: Both the Grower and the Dispensary must have a current, valid license from OMMA
The first and most basic rule is that you cannot sell weed (nor grow it in the first place) unless you are licensed by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA), a state agency that is a part of the State’s Department of Health.
And before you can get approval from OMMA, you must first comply with all of your local rules and codes. That means, that if you are cultivating within a city or municipality, you will have to first ensure that the property in which you intend to cultivate on is legally zoned for cultivation, and that your facility/building/office/grow house complies with local safety and building codes. To do this, you simply call the city’s code enforcement office and ask them what is required in order to grow medical marijuana. After complying with whatever rules, regulations, and zoning requirements of your city, you would then ask them for a Certificate of Compliance, and this is merely a document that certifies that you are following the local rules of the town.
If you’re not within the limits of any city or municipality, then you would simply contact the office of the county commissioners to determine if the county had any particular rules retaining to cultivation. (Most counties in Oklahoma do not).
Once you’ve obtained proof of compliance with your local municipality, you can obtain your medical marijuana grower’s permit from the OMMA. Afterwards, you will need to register with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) and obtain a permit from them.
Now that you have your OMMA license and OBN Permit, you can now legally sell. If you are new grower, just beware that this process can take some time. By the time you finally get your licenses, and set up your grow space, and then actually start your first run, be sure that your licenses have not expired and are in good standing when the time comes to start transacting business.
#2: A grower must have Seed-to-Sale software that proves what plant the buds came from before selling to a dispensary
Oklahoma law requires that all growers utilize inventory software that keeps track of the plants, from the time they are planted or cloned until they are harvested and sold. The purpose is to aid the state in performing audits for law enforcement purposes, so the state can attempt to monitor if grows are illegally selling to the black market. It’s not hard to use your imagination to see how this is a futile effort that can be easily absconded, and in fact only creates more administrative work for the compliant growers, but I digress.
Just know that in order to have a compliant cultivation business, you need to be using seed-to-sale inventory tracking software. The type or brand is up to you, for now (there is a lawsuit underway that is challenging the State’s authority to mandate a specific software company, and until that is resolved, the choice is yours as to which software to use).
Your software should document the origin and history of the plants, by batch, and should catalog all yield data and harvest metrics. You will also need it for generating invoices and delivery manifests.
#3: The Grower must submit samples for lab testing before the batch can be sold
Before the grower can legally sell the flower, the grower must have the flower tested for contaminants, mold, bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides, as well as for total cannabinoid content, including THC and terpenes.
The grower is required to take a sample from each ten-pound batch, and maintain the lab results for that batch. All sales from that batch must be accompanied by a copy of the lab report. The grower cannot sell the flower until the reports are completed by the chosen lab facility. Also, the lab facility must have a license from OMMA to test medical marijuana.
#4: Placing the Order: documenting necessary information about the buyer
When a dispensary is ready to purchase from a grower, you have the beginnings of a sales transaction. The grower must then do the following:
- Record the legal name of the dispensary, which may be different from the tradename or brand name of the retail store.
- Confirm that the OMMA license is valid
- Create an invoice for the transaction. It should contain the date of the order, the product ordered (i.e. whether flower or other product; strain name; quantity; price, etc.)
- The invoice should state the total amount due, and any payment terms
- The invoice should be accompanied by a delivery manifest that identifies all details about the delivery.
#5: A grower must package his order in compliant packaging
Cannabis in Oklahoma must be sold in packaging that clearly identifies the product as medical marijuana, and contains certain information and graphic symbols.
First, the product must be properly labeled. That means that the package must contain a label that identifies the grower’s legal name, the license number, the date of the harvest, the batch number, the THC and terpene percentage, and the type of product (i.e. medical marijuana flower, or medical marijuana pre-rolls, etc). The label must also contain a disclaimer that “This product has been tested for contaminants,” as well as contain the “Universal Symbol” which is a specific type of warning image created by OMMA.
At Smokey Okies Cannabis grow op, we use customized packaging for our pounds, half-pounds, and quarter-pound orders. Our bags have a zipper seal for easy access, while also allowing us to seal and protect the terps inside. Our bags are branded with our logo and image, contain all of the necessary legal language, warnings, and universal symbol, and also clearly display a section for the strain name, THC and terp percentages.
At Smokey Okies Cannabis, we sell directly to our dispensary customers. However, in the event that we work with a distributor, we have strict rules and terms that prevent any distributor or broker from altering our packaging, labeling, or from removing our product and dividing it into turkey bags, which is extremely common in this industry. Which brings up a common question:
Can you package cannabis flower in turkey bags in Oklahoma? The answer is yes, but the bags must still contain compliant labeling, as described above.
#6: Transporting the Order: Manifests
So at this point, your customer has placed an order (either in person, by phone, text or email); you have memorialized the order in the form of a written invoice, which identifies the customer, the product, price and terms. You’ve packaged your order, and properly labeled the package. Now it is time to deliver the order.
To effectuate delivery the order, you still have a few more rules to follow. You must create a shipping manifest, which is a document that identifies the location where the product originated, the delivery driver, and the destination location.
All details for all entities are required, so that includes the legal names, addresses, and license numbers for the grower and the dispensary. The date and times of departure must be documented, as well as the estimated time of arrival at the destination location.
Additionally, the driver must have a Transporter Agent card, which is available only to employees of businesses with OMMA licenses. The Transporter Agent ID must be documented on the manifest, as well as identifying information about the vehicle used in transportation, to include make/model, license plate number and even VIN.
This document must accompany the packages in printed form at all times. It is best practice to print multiple copies, tape one to the package or shipping container, and then keep another on-hand with the driver on a clip-board.
Lastly, the product must be placed in a non-transparent shipping container, capable of being locked, and unlabeled with any brand or insignia other than the words “medical marijuana or derivative.” These are the rules the State came up with, not the authors of SQ 788. Why the container cannot contain a brand logo but must contain the words “medical marijuana” is not clear to the author of this article, but that is the law of this land here in Okie-homa.
#7: Documenting the acceptance or rejection of the order.
If you’ve complied with all of the above, you are ready to hit the road and legally sell some weed! Whoo hoo! After all these years, you can finally do this legally! Let’s finish strong by nailing the final components of a legal weed deal in Oklahoma.
You must depart with your shipping container and manifest in hand, loaded into the vehicle identified on the manifest, and driven by an authorized Transporter Agent. The transporter agent should sign the section manifest stating who delivered the order.
Upon arrival at the destination, the driver must present the package to the recipient licensee for inspection and approval. The driver must then present the manifest and obtain a signature from the recipient agent. This person should print and sign their name, attesting to receipt of the cannabis packages.
If the recipient refuses or rejects any part of the order, those items rejected should be noted on the manifest, accompanied by a signature. Those items will be returned to the location they originated in.
After the transaction is complete, the inventory should be inputted into the recipient’s inventory software. Any product that is returned back to the grower shall go back into the grower’s inventory, and the manifest will provide documentation of the return.
#8: Growers should maintain records in case of government audit.
The intended purpose of these rules and regulations is to prevent growers from selling product to the black market while having legal permission to grow. The inventory tracking software and manifest documentation requirements allow government agents to audit the cultivation facility and determine if any product was diverted to illegal markets. Therefore, you should maintain all of these documents in an orderly manner so that you can present them upon inspection to any authorities.
Looking for premium flower for your Oklahoma dispensary? Call Smokey Okies Cannabis!
Smokey Okies Cannabis is a premier cannabis brand in Oklahoma. With a popular following, many dispensaries are finding it to their advantage to carry Smokey Okies Cannabis. All of our flower is produced indoors, in an extremely clean and sterile environment. Our strains are on the cutting edge of the breeding scene, our bags are clean and attractive, and of course, we follow all of the rules contained in this article. To get in touch, simply send us an email and we can get started. You can also browse our strain catalogue online. We also have a weekly menu that is sent out every Monday morning to licensed dispensaries, and we would love to add your store to that newsletter list.
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