Oklahoma Bureau Of Narcotics Has Open Investigations Into Half Of OK's Licensed Growers

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics says Oklahoma’s marijuana grow facilities are a hotbed for illegal activity, and has open investigations into half of them.

Come Tuesday, the future of the marijuana industry is in voters' hands. Those for and against state question 820 have a common strand; both have acknowledged in past interviews with News 9, the black market is overgrown here in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics has a snapshot of the progress they've made pruning the market.

"Since the spring of 2021 our agency has shut down about 800 grows," said OBN Spokesperson, Mark Woodward.

Investigators have also arrested around 200 people in the process.

"We've seized over 600,000 pounds of marijuana that was destined for the black market outside of Oklahoma," Woodward explained.

That number hardly makes a dent in comparison to how many open investigations into illegal grow farms OBN has.

"Our agency has roughly 6,200 marijuana growers licensed. Nearly half of them that are operating with a license they obtained by fraud or are moving product to the black market or a combination of both that we are actively investigating," said Woodward.

He added, those investigations usually start with legitimate paperwork.

"It's through peeling back the layers and seeing who's truly behind the licenses, the paperwork and these farms," Woodward continued. "Those start raising some red flags when you start seeing the same names, same addresses showing up, same law firms, same brokers showing up."

Some names showed up in up to 200 different licenses.  

"It's a combination of international criminal money laundering organizations, drug trafficking organizations, and even local people who have gotten involved in order to capitalize off of the marijuana industry in Oklahoma," said Woodward. “A lot of Oklahoma groups, law firms and others who've stepped up and said we'll help you get a license they've created these straw ownership structures."

Illegal weed with Oklahoma roots is a growing problem, Woodward said, as Sooner State reached the biggest black market supplier in the last two years. He also said the illegal operations are hotbeds for other illegal activities.

"Trafficking ketamine and other drugs. We've shut down prostitution rings, human trafficking, sex trafficking, suspected arson and even homicides tied to these criminal organizations," Woodward explained.

Woodward also said the grow farm in Kingfisher County where the quadruple homicide happened a few months ago had gotten their license fraudulently.