Will Oklahoma soon have more medical marijuana business than churches?

Oklahoma approved more than 6,500 medical marijuana business licenses by Aug. 1. That nearly meets or exceeds the number of churches in this Bible-belt state.Dispensaries seem to be positioned on every corner, fighting for a share of a still-increasing market. There are now nearly 1,700 approved dispensary licenses in Oklahoma. Comparatively, there are only about twice that many places you could walk into today and order a glass of beer.But these dispensaries are only part of the story, accounting for less than a third of commercial marijuana operations in the state.FROM THE HOMEPAGEOKC schools expecting bus ridership to riseNEWSUpdated: 16 hours agoProcessors and growers often operate in nondescript buildings for security purposes and can even set up in residential areas or neighborhoods. Some commercial growers are working out of their homes, whether or not their neighbors know about it.In Oklahoma County, with far less traditional agricultural activity than many counties in the state, growers outnumber dispensary licenses 595 to 549.Tax revenue is another metric that continues to grow exponentially.Oklahoma approved more than 6,500 medical marijuana business licenses by Aug. 1. That nearly meets or exceeds the number of churches in this Bible-belt state.Dispensaries seem to be positioned on every corner, fighting for a share of a still-increasing market. There are now nearly 1,700 approved dispensary licenses in Oklahoma. Comparatively, there are only about twice that many places you could walk into today and order a glass of beer.But these dispensaries are only part of the story, accounting for less than a third of commercial marijuana operations in the state.FROM THE HOMEPAGEOKC schools expecting bus ridership to riseNEWSUpdated: 16 hours agoProcessors and growers often operate in nondescript buildings for security purposes and can even set up in residential areas or neighborhoods. Some commercial growers are working out of their homes, whether or not their neighbors know about it.In Oklahoma County, with far less traditional agricultural activity than many counties in the state, growers outnumber dispensary licenses 595 to 549.Tax revenue is another metric that continues to grow exponentially.Oklahoma collected nearly $1,300 in sales tax in November, the first month of collections since legalization, according to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. That amount has seen a 63% median percent increase month-over-month since, and in June, the state collected more than $2.1 million.The demand created by an unexpected surge of patient applications is fueling these spikes. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority anticipated the state would see about 80,000 patients apply for a medical marijuana license within the first year after legalization.That estimate was smashed as Oklahoma surpassed 162,000 patients before the end of July, about a year after SQ 788 passed June 26, 2018.All the approved license holders would be enough to form the third-largest city in Oklahoma, and it likely won’t be long before that number is larger than the populations of Norman and Stillwater — combined.FROM THE HOMEPAGEOklahoma’s workforce needs work, officials sayBUSINESSUpdated: 1 hour agoThis number is not yet as much as was anticipated within Oklahoma, but it is all occurring at a much faster rate. Medical Marijuana Authority Director Adrienne Rollins said the authority originally estimated about 5% of the state’s population, close to 200,000, eventually would be licensed patients. This estimate is based off license rates in other states with similar medical marijuana legislation.The business numbers have exceeded expectations as well, though original estimates so far are closer to actual numbers.“On the business side, I think we were around 5,000 max,” Rollins said. “There are a lot of growers. That was interesting to us to see how many growers and how they’re really everywhere in Oklahoma. It’s really widespread.”There are some signs the state is nearing an equilibrium. Patient license applications and business license applications are slowing.“We’re about 3,000 to 4,000 (patient applications) a week that we get in,” Rollins said. “At the height, one week we even got close to 9,000.”With more than 6,500 commercial business licenses issued, it’s safe to say jobs have been added to the labor force, but it is still to be determined just how many.The way jobs are tracked through the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission is limited when it comes to brand new job sectors, according to Lynn Gray, the agency’s director of research and analysis.“These are for the most part new companies that didn’t exist a year ago,” Gray said. “We weren’t seeing many come through our system until February.”I have no idea what the employment will be.”