Medical marijuana grows in Oklahoma have been told time is up to get in compliance with fire and building codes.
The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control is now refusing to renew their registrations unless they submit proof they have passed inspection.
Three manufacturers sued Jan. 29 after they were given 30 days to request administrative hearings to produce the required paperwork.
The bureau sent letters Jan. 19 to 2,176 marijuana businesses, according to the lawsuit. The marijuana grows complained that the state fire marshal’s office can’t keep up with inspections through no fault of its own.
Suing are Lucky Rhino Farms, which is in Pittsburg County, and two other grows. Their lawsuit is asking an Oklahoma County judge to order the bureau not to penalize grows over the issue until the state fire marshal clears the backlog.
A hearing on the lawsuit is set for April 4.
Oklahoma attorney general describes ‘a culture of noncompliance’ with building codes in marijuana industry
Fires at marijuana businesses led to a safety crackdown in 2023. Attorney General Gentner Drummond complained in September there is “a culture of rampant noncompliance” with building codes in the marijuana industry.
“I am aware of building code violations that have created fires, explosions, burn victims, exposure to dangerous chemicals and combustible gasses, and the loss of thousands of acres,” he wrote in a letter to the state fire marshal.
The state fire marshal, Keith Bryant, told The Oklahoman last year regulators had been letting medical marijuana manufacturers operate without going through his office.
“Ever since medical marijuana was legalized, most of the grow operations are in rural areas,” he said. “Well, in most cases, the counties don’t have any building codes. … And so their paperwork got signed off on for that piece of it, and they were given a license.
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“And they never had obtained a certificate of occupancy from our office.”
He said the stricter stance by regulators has resulted in a record number of submissions to the state fire marshal’s office for building permits.
The attorney for the grows, Ronald Durbin, of Tulsa, said the state fire marshal’s office still hasn’t even opened inspection requests submitted in July.
“We’ve got a mess,” the attorney said.
The narcotics bureau’s public information officer, Mark Woodward, said administrative hearings probably won’t start until April.
“I know every day the fire marshal’s doing everything they can to knock more of them out,” Woodward said about inspections. “So there’s a very good chance that by March or April many of these businesses that got a letter will hopefully be up to code by then.”
He also said the businesses can grow outdoors until they get certificates of occupancy from the state fire marshal for their buildings.
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