Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, today received passage of Senate Bill 1697 through the House. The bill, authored by Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, in the Senate, would require all applicants for a medical marijuana commercial grower license and commercial grower licensees to file with the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority a bond in an amount of no less than $25,000 for each license sought or held that covers the land where the licensee will conduct grow operations.
The bill raises the bar of entry for people in the business or wanting to get into the business, requiring them to pay the state $10,000 more than the combined yearly salary of a minimum-wage worker.
The bill also allows for OMMA to require a higher amount for the bond if it decides to.
“As we strengthen our medical marijuana laws to ensure only legitimate businesses are in operation, we need to make sure these business owners have some skin in the game,” Jech said. “I’m thankful my colleagues saw the necessity of this measure, and I’m excited to see it go to the governor’s desk for his consideration.”
SB1697 will now be sent to the governor’s desk for review and approval.
