OMMA Commercial Licensing Updates: January 2025

Oklahoma State Department of Health sent this bulletin at 01/16/2025 08:37 AM CST

Reminder: Credential Renewals

As a reminder, all credential renewal applications for medical marijuana industry employees must be submitted on or before Jan. 31, 2025. In addition, our Licensing team has the following reminders:

Businesses: Please double-check your employee roster for credentials that need to be renewed. This can be done in the Thentia licensing portal.
Applicants: If your name has changed since you first received a credential, please submit a name change request before submitting a credential renewal application. When you go to renew your credential, you should see a renewal button. If you don’t see a renewal button, please check that you are applying under the profile that houses your current credential.

To renew a credential, you can log in to the Thentia licensing portal and complete a renewal application under your current profile. When you log in to the Thentia licensing portal, you will be asked to provide:

Proof of identity, including government-issued photo ID.
State background check: An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) name-based background check establishing that the applicant does not have a disqualifying criminal conviction. Must be dated within 30 days of application submission.
National background check: Attestation Regarding National Background Check.
A current photo no less than 6 months old.
A $30 application fee, plus any associated processing fees.

If your application is incomplete or contains errors, you will receive a rejection notice and have 30 days to correct it. Be aware that if your resubmission remains incomplete or has errors, it will be denied under Oklahoma law, so please double-check your application before submitting.

REMEMBER: Applicants can continue working while their renewal application is pending.

However, if the application is denied, they must stop working until a new application is submitted and approved.

OMMA encourages those seeking or renewing credentials to start the process early to allow for the time needed to complete the required background checks. Other helpful information and FAQs can be found on OMMA’s credentialing page at omma.ok.gov/credentialing.

Reporting Product Loss/Theft

If your business is affected by a natural disaster or theft, notify OMMA by filling out our Notice of Loss/Theft Form as soon as you realize product is unaccounted for due to a natural disaster, theft or other loss. Please provide the business name, license number and details about the missing product, including Metrc RFID tag numbers if known.

OMMA Executive Advisory Council Meeting

As a reminder, the OMMA Executive Advisory Council (EAC) will meet at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. The meeting will be livestreamed on the state Senate website.

Created by House Bill 1349, the EAC may advise OMMA of recommended changes to state policy, rules, or statutes and will prepare and issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by Nov. 1 of each year.

The six appointees of the EAC are set in statute and require appointments from the Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Full membership of the EAC has yet to be finalized, but the statutory organizational meeting was held on Dec. 17, 2024. You can learn more about the OMMA EAC by visiting our dedicated webpage.

OMMA staff at the Executive Advisory Council organizational meeting held on Dec. 17, 2024, at the state Capitol. Photo credit: OMMA

Public Comment Ends, Rulemaking Continues

The public comment period for OMMA's proposed permanent rules was Nov. 15 to Dec. 17, 2024, and ended with a public meeting held at the state Capitol.

In all, OMMA received 283 comments: 24 verbal and 259 written. OMMA will review and respond to each comment and publish an agency rule report on our webpage omma.ok.gov/comment by Feb. 1, 2025. Anyone who submitted a comment will receive an individual reply from the agency.

For more information on the rulemaking process, visit our dedicated webpage; to view OMMA’s current rules at any time, please visit omma.ok.gov/rules.

The public meeting on OMMA’s proposed permanent rules held at the state Capitol on Dec. 17, 2024. Photo credit: OMMA

Legislative Session Starts Soon

Oklahoma’s annual legislative session begins at noon Feb. 3, 2025. From then till the end of May, the Legislature will consider hundreds of bills, some of which are relevant to OMMA and the medical marijuana industry. Now is the time to reach out to your legislator and share your story and experience — it’s early in the legislative process.

As a resource, OMMA has a dedicated webpage to provide you with legislative updates during session. Medical marijuana-related bills for consideration in 2025 will be listed at omma.ok.gov/legislation once they become available before the start of session. Please note this resource is for informational purposes only — it is not an indication that OMMA supports or opposes any legislation or their contents.

FYI: DEQ Meeting on Wastewater Permit

As a reminder, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will host a public meeting to take comments from the public, explain the permitting process and answer any other permit-related questions concerning the OKG42T general wastewater permit to dispose of wastewater resulting from the growing of medical marijuana, which is currently under renewal with DEQ.

A final permit, if issued, would allow OMMA-licensed grow facilities to dispose of wastewater consisting of excess nutrient water, waste nutrient water, nutrient water runoff, reverse osmosis (RO) reject wastewater and other related wastewater into an impoundment or underground tank system. This permit will also allow land application of any combination of the previously defined wastewaters that are considered to be Class III wastewater.

The public meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Jan. 22, 2025, in the 1st Floor Multipurpose Room at the DEQ main office located at 707 N Robinson in Oklahoma City. If you have questions, please contact DEQ.