Oklahoma may have been a little late to the MMJ party but it soon caught up. According to the latest 2020 data, the state issued more cultivation licenses for medical marijuana than anywhere else in the country.
Even more than California!
Oklahoma cultivation licenses
According to data from Cannabiz Media, Oklahoma gave out more cannabis cultivation licenses than California and Michigan who came second and third.
The data has Oklahoma approving 2,392 new cultivation licenses for medical marijuana in 2020.
From left, Jake Chilcoat, executive vice president, and Matt Baker, president, pose for a photo with one-pound bags of cannabis flowers before they are broken down into grams at CBD Plus USA, 420 N Pennsylvania, in Oklahoma City, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
California was second with 2,304 and Michigan a distant third with 333.
That means there are a total of 18,172 legal cultivation businesses out there, with a significant portion of them right here in Oklahoma.
The latest figures have us with a total of 5,265 licenses in all.
Oklahoma, California, Michigan, Oregon, Colorado and Washington have 89% of the cannabis cultivation market between them. With more on the way.
Cash crop
It isn’t all about the licenses either. Oklahoma made $6 million out of licensing in 2020. It also registered $25 million from commercial medical marijuana licenses in 2020. That’s double the previous year!
With no limit on the number of plants or the size of facility in Oklahoma, it seems our fair state is the place to be if you need medical marijuana!
Sales of MMJ in Oklahoma reflects this explosive growth.
In 2019, the state measured $385 million in MMJ sales. That was set to double in 2020. That’s almost $800 million, from a new crop!
Part of that increase in sales must be down to the pandemic. Some of it also the increased awareness of the new industry and availability of Cannabis cards.
Either way, that’s important income for the state that could be put to good use given the state of the economy right now.
Crops help coping with COVID
For those who need pain relief or use marijuana for medical reasons, the pandemic has been a tough time. While we have been more relaxed than many countries, we have still suffered at the hands of the pandemic.
Fortunately, Oklahoma was ahead of the curve, again. The state declared medical marijuana businesses as essential, allowing them to stay open and even offer curbside pickup services to customers.
Dispensaries were made exempt from the stay at home order and classed as essential businesses. While small print prevents full delivery to customers, dispensaries are permitted curbside deliveries.
Many have taken this up and provide the service to their local customers.
Whatever else is going on in the state, in the country and in the world, the Oklahoma medical marijuana industry is going from strength to strength. Growth is rapid and so far, none of the fears of legalizing MMJ have been realized.
As long as those trends continue, Oklahoma and MMJ have a bright future!
