An Oklahoma Water Resources Board official told lawmakers this week that one in three complaints the agency received this year is related to the rapid growth of the state's medical cannabis industry and a resulting proliferation of grow operations of questionable legitimacy in rural areas.
"The medical marijuana complaints have taken the place of the poultry farm complaints thus far," said General Counsel Sara Gibson, while showing a map with dots scattered in northeast Oklahoma, each a complaint related to water use. She said the agency has received 16 so far about cannabis businesses and that they are about one-third of all complaints received so far this year.
But Gibson said she doesn't believe the OWRB has significant enforcement capabilities or staff to address cannabis grows' water use despite what she said was "a big impact," particularly on rural systems.
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"We're having a hard time matching up databases, so it is hard for us to just look and see 'oh here's a grow, I wonder if they have a permit, let's go out there and check,'" Gibson said. "So we are relying on complaints at this time. So if we get a complaint from a citizen or if you notice something, we will go out and investigate that.
"But we just don't have the staff or the resources at this time to look at the list of marijuana grows and go out and investigate."
Gibson's remarks came during an interim study hosted by Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, meant to focus on what lawmakers said was an increase of foreign ownership of land in Oklahoma. It wasn't clear how much acreage authorities believe has legally questionable ownership and ties to the cannabis industry, but Moore said he wants "a permanent fix, not a Band-Aid on an open wound" to curb all forms of illegal activity.
"The Sooner State, as deeply red as the American political palette will go, has almost overnight become the hottest place in the country to grow marijuana," Sequoyah County Commissioner Jim Rogers said. In a presentation titled "How Rural Oklahoma Has Been Targeted," he claimed his county "has become the wild west of the marijuana" because there are no limits on how large a grow can be or how many can operate.
Sequoyah County has one licensed grow facility on record for about every 260 residents, while Tulsa County has one for about every 2,300 people.
During Gibson's presentation, Moore said he also noticed complaints about improper water use lodged in northwestern Oklahoma despite OWRB records not showing anyone in the area has applied for a groundwater or streamwater permit. Such applications entail a notice to the public and allow for protests before a permit is granted.
Moore said the issue made him concerned about the possibility of accelerated aquifer depletion.
"We can drive up to multiple well sites we know for a fact exist, myself included," Moore said, referencing an operation in Custer County that had three wells "to very clearly water 17 hoop houses that are right next to them." He said the discrepancy means "obviously someone's not reporting correctly" what's being used or accessed.
Gibson said the OWRB has so far approved four groundwater access permits and is reviewing 11 other applications, as well as one for streamwater access, but that many growers often don't even realize they need to have a water permit. She said the discrepancy between complaints and applications for proper access appear largest in northeast Oklahoma, which has generated nearly half of the 16 complaints related to cannabis operations.
Domestic wells such as those for household use or watering cattle don't require a permit, she said. But Gibson said she's seen how quickly grow operations can expand in size and how they can impact those living nearby.
"What we're seeing with some of these grows is the grow will say, 'Hey I just need a domestic well and I've got my 12 plants here, just small," she said. "So they go out and drill that well and then all of a sudden there's a small hoop house and then a bigger hoop house and then all of a sudden it's a full-scale operation that needs a permit.
"And so then the growers have invested time and significant resources into building these grows and now they can't water them because they don't have the appropriate permit."
Gibson said she would like the OWRB to implement an intent-to-drill system through its rule-making process, as the agency does not currently have its own authority to assess penalties against landowners for drilling without a permit. She also said the OWRB wants to work with the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics to cross-check documentation to ensure names on water permit applications match names applicants use for their businesses.
The OWRB additionally wants funds to hire more staff who can inspect grow sites and the ability to create a fine structure for noncompliance.
"If someone has drilled a well without a permit, we don't know about it until (as much as) 60 days after it happens unless we get a complaint from a neighbor," Gibson said, later adding that "It's hard to have people take the permitting system seriously when you don't really have anything to be able to ensure good behavior."
"Certainly we want to ensure a fair playing field for everyone and if an administrative fine system is the best way to do that, we can certainly help develop that," she said.
Framed by State Question 788, passed overwhelmingly by state voters three years ago, Oklahoma’s medical marijuana laws tried to favor small, local operators by limiting out-of-state ownership stakes, setting license fees low and putting no cap on the number of business licenses that could be issued.
10 things that are still illegal under Oklahoma's medical marijuana laws
Can’t get a prescription for marijuana
Marijuana is listed as a schedule 1 controlled substance in federal law, so it cannot be prescribed, only "recommended."
A Ninth Circuit Court ruling ensures protection for doctors who issue recommendations to patients who may benefit from cannabis-based treatments, but federal law precludes doctors from “aiding and abetting” patients obtaining marijuana. This means doctors and patients cannot discuss dosages, strains or specific cannabis products for treating a specific ailment. Doctors instead fill out a form indicating they have discussed the risks of marijuana use with the patient and feel the benefits are worth the treatment.
Some patients who see physicians for pain and are treated with opioids also may not be able to do so and use medical marijuana as a licensed patient.
Can’t use marijuana in the workplace or be impaired on the job
State Question 788 says only that an employer may not discriminate against an employee simply because of their status as a medical marijuana patient. This means that simply having a license cannot be grounds for termination or discipline. That employer can still, however, write and enforce rules that restrict the use of marijuana by employees just like any other controlled substance. No patients would be protected if they come to work high, use marijuana in the workplace or attempt to do their job while impaired.
Can’t transport marijuana across state lines
Patients who obtain medical marijuana cards in other states may purchase from dispensaries there, but the products may not be brought back to Oklahoma. Nor could a patient travel to a state with a recreational marijuana law and bring any legally obtained products back to Oklahoma. Those patients who plan to cultivate marijuana at their own homes would also not be permitted to obtain seeds from another state.
Can't get a doctor's recommendation inside a dispensary
A change to the law made it illegal to post a physician inside a medical marijuana dispensary, as this one did, for customers to sign up as patients inside the retail business operation.
Can't try the product while shopping
The use of any cannabis product is prohibited inside a licensed medical marijuana business, so patients should not expect samples like what some CBD shops have been able to offer.
Can’t smoke marijuana where tobacco also prohibited
The law makes cannabis like tobacco when it comes to public consumption by falling under the Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workplaces Act.
Can't give marijuana away
Nothing in the law allows for patients to transfer ownership of marijuana. Patients cannot donate or sell marijuana, even to other patients. Licensed patients may cultivate marijuana on their own residential property or, with written permission, on rented property. They cannot grow outdoors unless the plants are surrounded by a locked 6-foot fence. If the yield of the plants at harvest surpasses the legal amount that may be in a patient’s possession, the marijuana must be either processed or destroyed. Patients may process their own marijuana for concentrates or edibles but would not be permitted to perform extractions using butane.
Can’t drive while impaired on marijuana
Although it is legal for patients to have a certain amount of marijuana on their person, if that patient is behind the wheel, a law enforcement officer will evaluate whether the person is at all impaired. Driving while under the influence remains illegal even for medical marijuana patients.
Can’t possess an excessive amount of marijuana
A patient remains within the legal guidelines if they possess no more than 3 ounces of marijuana on their person and 8 ounces at their residence, 1 ounce of concentrated marijuana, and 72 ounces of edible marijuana. If caught exceeding those limitations, a patient would lose their license and could face criminal charges including intent to distribute or trafficking.
Can't smoke where you're told not to
