Patients, growers press OMMA for transparency and broader industry representation
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Summary
At a newly added public-comment session, patients and industry members urged the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority to publish more testing and enforcement data, expand advisory representation and explain where tax revenue and rehabilitation funding are going.
Adria Berry, director of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and statutory chair of the Executive Advisory Council, opened the council's first public-comment session and heard about 10 minutes of concerns from patients and industry representatives on transparency, testing and pending legislation.
Several commenters argued the agency and legislators have not provided enough information about testing and enforcement. Jed Green said multiple bills moving in the Legislature could affect OMMA implementation and accused unspecified measures of creating confusing definitions and an unfair emergency timeline for industry compliance. ‘‘House Bill 3,314 — the tax bill — the folly of this bill cannot be understated,’’ Green said, arguing it would sharply increase taxes on vulnerable patients.
Business owners spoke about representation and follow-up. John Coombas and James Shears asked why the council lacks more processors, growers and dispensary owners, saying that limited industry representation makes it unclear who advocates for business and patient concerns after meetings. ‘‘We don't know how to get a hold of y'all,’’ Shears said, and asked where tax revenues intended for education and rehabilitation have been spent.
Patient advocates raised safety concerns. Summer Parker urged OMMA to publish details about the secret-shopper testing program — how many products were tested, results and lab contracting — noting she believes legislative directives on testing levels have not been met. Charles Rubina of Patients for Safe Access described having tracked alleged contamination and urged a legislative hearing into agency failures; he said the program needed ‘‘accountability’’ and called for stronger oversight.
Brandy Keenan, representing a certification effort called PCA, offered a contrasting view: she praised OMMA call-center staff and inspectors for improved responsiveness and announced a PCA certification program to identify compliant businesses.
Chair Berry said the public-comment period will be offered at every council meeting going forward and asked staff to follow up on specific data requests. The council did not take formal action on the items raised during public comment.