Every month, OMMA sends this publication to commercial licensees’ primary email address. Starting this month, we’ll also send it as a courtesy to credentialed employees of medical marijuana businesses. We’ll gauge interest for a few months and keep sending a copy to credentialed employees if the trial period shows it has been helpful.
To any credentialed employees receiving this for the first time: Welcome! We hope you’ll find helpful information in this monthly newsletter. If you have questions, visit omma.ok.gov/contact to reach out. Find archived editions by visiting omma.ok.gov/news.
Earlier today, OMMA sent an email to licensees about the permanent rules that take effect July 25, 2024, affecting commercial license requirements, testing laboratory standardization, OMMA operations and other areas.
See a copy of the rules and information about how rules are made on our Rulemaking Process webpage. A current copy of OMMA rules is always available at omma.ok.gov/rules, and you can learn more in the video below.
GrowGod LLC “Flamin Hot Cheetos”
This month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued warning letters to five companies for illegally selling copycat food products containing delta-8 THC and introducing them into the marketplace.
Fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024) was a year of several firsts for OMMA — our first full fiscal year as a stand-alone agency, our first year navigating the formal budget process and our first year as an appropriated agency.
OMMA’s budget history is brief but complex. In October 2022, weeks before separating from being under the state Department of Health’s umbrella, OMMA submitted an initial fiscal year 2024 budget request of $53 million — later revised down to $48 million. When the Legislature set our fiscal year 2024 budget at $37 million, we had about five weeks to reduce our planned budget by roughly $11 million (22%). At that time, we were charged with standing up, staffing and funding office space for a brand new, stand-alone agency along with implementing dozens of legislative mandates. This is a rare occurrence in modern state government, but our team pulled it off in the six-month time period mandated by the Legislature in Senate Bill 1543.
In fiscal year 2024, 73% of OMMA’s budget funded our payroll expenses, leaving roughly $10 million to be allocated to IT, equipment, software and general operations. Despite the reduced funding, OMMA tackled major projects, including processing employee credential applications and initiating the use of robotic process automation (RPA) to process credential applications automatically 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We initiated an agency-wide IT roadmap for the investment in technology for the next three years. These projects, along with RPA technology and a website chatbot, are just a few ways the agency is leveraging technology to maximize the efficiency of state tax dollars entrusted to us. We have also been navigating the state purchasing process since January 2023 to procure new licensing and inspection software — stay tuned for more updates on that soon!
For OMMA’s fiscal year 2025 budget, we submitted a $45.8 million budget request, including our baseline funding of $37 million, plus $8.8 million in additional funding for staffing the quality assurance reference lab and its operating costs, ongoing IT projects, and ensuring field staff have the necessary equipment to do their jobs efficiently and safely. At that time, we also submitted a $10 million supplemental request for fiscal year 2024. The supplemental request included funding for additional personnel in licensing, legal and enforcement along with law enforcement equipment, start-up costs for IT projects and start-up costs for the quality assurance lab. Although we were not granted any of our fiscal year 2024 supplemental requests, the Legislature did approve additional funding in fiscal year 2025 for quality assurance lab costs and personnel ($1.4 million) and quality assurance lab start-up costs ($3.5 million) for a total fiscal year 2025 appropriation of $41.9 million.
We continue to balance the basic needs of the agency alongside the regulatory demands of the state. As we look back, we’ve learned and grown a lot in our first year as an appropriated agency. Fiscal year 2025 has just begun, and now we get to take everything we learned last year to make this one even better. We look forward to feedback from the State Auditor and Inspector’s Office on ways in which we can improve (read more on that below).
State statute requires the State Auditor and Inspector’s Office (SAI) to audit the books and records of state agencies whose duty it is to collect, disburse or manage funds of the state.
OMMA and SAI will collaborate on an Operational Audit of the agency to fulfill this statutory mandate, identify targeted objectives and outcomes of the audit, and utilize the final report to further enhance agency functions and increase agency efficiencies.
While we are still in the preliminary stages of the audit, we are eager to share details and results, and remain committed to promoting public health and safety through regulation and enforcement of responsible medical cannabis practices.
Recently, OMMA finished a series of Partner Agency Trainings designed to share information and enhance collaboration across state agencies involved in medical marijuana regulation.
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Collaborate to regulate: Although OMMA takes the lead on medical marijuana regulation in Oklahoma, no single agency or entity can do it alone. It takes everyone working together to protect Oklahomans.
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Communication is key: These trainings and other events provide stakeholders the opportunity to communicate about the issues and challenges regulating an industry as dynamic and diverse as medical marijuana. This information sharing is how OMMA creates items like our Safety Checklist.
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Iron sharpens iron: These trainings allow OMMA to develop and maintain strong partnerships with other agencies while developing and retaining quality staff.
OMMA Partner Agency Training held June 2024. Photo credit: OMMA
Q: What are the responsibilities for a business to keep track of employee credentials?
A: Licensed medical marijuana businesses are required to ensure their employees have a valid credential or pending credential application. Businesses must also associate all employee credentials with their commercial license through the licensing portal’s Employee Roster function to keep an updated roster of credentialed employees.
Q: What can I do within the licensing portal related to my employees’ credentials?
A: You can see status changes to the employee’s credential. You can also use the Employee Roster function to add or remove credentialed employees from your roster.
Q: How do I use the licensing portal’s Employee Roster to add or remove my employees?
A: Sign in to the licensing portal. Select the Business portal, and then select your profile. Click the Manage Business button for the business you’re updating. Select Update Employee Roster. To add an employee, use the search function to search for their credential number and then add the employee to the roster. To remove an employee, click the Remove button next to their name and credential number.
Q: Can I use the same portal login for an employee credential application that I use for my patient license application?
A: Yes, but after logging in you must create a profile in the credential portal for a credential application. Even with the same login, patient profiles are separate from employee credential profiles.
Q: I never received the transportation agent license card. How can I request a replacement?
A: The commercial licensee who applied for the transport agent license may request a replacement for lost, stolen, damaged or never received license cards through the licensing portal. You must wait 30 days after the application approval date before requesting a replacement for a card never received. Be sure to first check the business mailing address and update it if necessary. Log in to the licensing portal and use the menu options to check the mailing address and request a replacement.
Q: Can a commercial grower use old GAAA tags after their license number changes to GAAI or GAAO for an indoor and/or outdoor grow?
A: Licensees may continue using the remaining tags with the old license number until they run out. When licensees order new tags under the new license number(s), the new tags will reflect the updated number(s).
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