Oklahoma Officials Report Booming Medical Marijuana Sales in April

Not even a pandemic can stop Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program from humming right along.

The state’s tax commission said that sales for medical cannabis last month hit another new record, according to the Oklahoman, which said that “dispensaries remitted almost $9.8 million in state taxes during April.”

According to The Oklahoman, that total “smashes the previous record of $7.8 million set in March, and is the highest month-to-month increase since last summer.”

“With the stay-home order in place, and medical marijuana dispensaries being categorized as essential health services, Oklahoma patients were afforded the ability to take their medicine on a more regular basis and sample a broader range of available medicines,” Bud Scott, executive director of the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association, told the Oklahoman.

It’s yet another sign that Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program has, by all accounts, been embraced by residents there.

High Demand For Medical Marijuana

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) reported last summer that it had approved nearly 150,000 licenses for patients to receive medical cannabis, placing it near the top among the 33 states in the country that have legalized medical cannabis.

That number vastly exceeded what state officials expected for the first year of enrollment. After the measure passed on the ballot in 2018, officials said they anticipated roughly 80,000 patients enrolling in the opening year.

Dispensaries in Oklahoma have been permitted to conduct curbside pickup during the COVID-19 outbreak, though—unlike in other states—deliveries have not been allowed.

Some lawmakers sought to change that, even before the coronavirus pandemic hit. In February, a bill was passed unanimously by an Oklahoma House of Representatives committee that would allow dispensaries to deliver medical marijuana products to patients. 

A new law that took effect last month requires all medical cannabis dispensaries in the state to carry products that have been tested in a laboratory licensed by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority.