Latest news with #OMMA
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Medical marijuana business owner reacts to software glitch
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Thousands of medical marijuana business owners were likely in full-blown panic mode Wednesday morning after a glitch in a system that the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) uses. Many woke up to find out their business licenses had been suddenly canceled. The state blames all of it on a software glitch, and this is not the first time the program has caused problems for state agencies. Software glitch cancels thousands of Medical Marijuana business licenses OMMA says In the few years that this company has been operating in Oklahoma, there have been multiple problems. The latest issue came on Wednesday morning, likely causing medical marijuana business owners' hearts to drop. 'They basically told us that our licenses were expired,' said Todd Curtis, Owner of Old McDoobie's Pharm Too. 'We couldn't operate anymore.' OMMA sent out a message after an apparent glitch suddenly canceled thousands of commercial Medical Marijuana licenses overnight. 'It's very nerve-racking,' Curtis said. 'I mean, you're sitting on a lot of product and a lot of money. The OMMA sends out a letter that says, 'We've basically wrecked your life and everybody else around you.'' OMMA said this was due to a glitch in the system they use for licensing. From what we understand so far, a glitch in the licensing system canceled thousands of commercial licenses overnight. We're actively working with the third-party vendor to figure out what led to this and the inconvenience it put on thousands of businesses. Businesses that received this cancelation notice can continue to operate and should report the issue via our contact form at Within the next fiscal year, we'll be launching a new licensing software platform. OMMA The third-party vendor is Thentia, which the OMMA proudly promotes on its website as 'a better way to license.' The licensing software platform arrived in Oklahoma just a few years ago, but there have been several problems with state agencies since then, including outages, trouble reading payments, and issues tracking certain education credits, according to a 2023 report by Oklahoma Watch. News 4 reached out to Thentia's Oklahoma City office, but have not heard back. In the meantime, OMMA says every business that received the cancellation notice should report it to them, adding they can continue to operate, but Curtis says he's still worried. 'I don't think we've even gotten anything back that says, you know, we're not expired,' Curtis said. 'So, it's still nerve-wracking.' OMMA says it will move away from Thentia as its licensing software within the next fiscal year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Stitt demands crackdown on ‘psychoactive marijuana byproducts'
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The governor is demanding a crackdown on what he calls 'psychoactive marijuana byproducts.' Some people often refer to them as 'weed lite' or 'diet weed.' The products, which have the word 'Delta' on the label, along with a number, can be found in gas stations, and can get you high. Gov. Stitt is calling on state agencies to better regulate these products. More pre-rolls coming back positive for mold and yeast 'We knew that coming down the pipeline,' Jeffery Havard, with Havard Industries said. Delta 8 and 10 are extracted from cannabis in a lab, then sold in vapes, dab pens, or edibles. They often give people a milder high. Delta 8 and 10 are legal, meaning anyone over the age of 21 can buy it from places like a gas station, vape shops or even online. Unlike medical marijuana, these products don't get fully tested in labs before they hit the shelves. 'They're addressing this synthetically made like a Delta 8, Delta 10 products of that nature,' Havard said. 'So, I think overall the goal here is to try to address some of these materials that are like basically untested that are on the shelf.' Havard says that without testing, it is hard to determine how strong the products are. Because of the way Delta 8 and 10 are made, heavy metals like nickel can be left behind and ingested. '…and those would never be caught because they're not required to be fully tested,' Havard said. Concerns have now reached the governor's office. In a letter sent to agency heads, he asks for a crackdown on what he calls the 'unlawful manufacturing, distribution, and sale of psychoactive marijuana byproducts.' He also went on to say, 'These compounds, often marketed to young people, have psychoactive properties that threaten the safety and well-being of Oklahomans.' News 4 reached out to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) and the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) about this. We did not hear back from OMMA, but did receive a response from OBN. OBN has been investigating this issue, and we look forward to continuing to work with our federal and state partners to target companies that have been circumventing laws and rules to profit from these harmful products being sold in our state. Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Havard says it is long overdue. 'Eventually, something like this was going to occur as far as trying to look into safety issues with them,' Havard said. 'I think we're finally coming to that point where they're addressing some of the safety concerns with these products.' Gov. Stitt has tasked the state agencies that he reached out to with three things: Coordinated investigations, targeted enforcement, and regulatory assessment. If things don't improve, Havard says there is a possibility the governor could try stripping these products from the shelves entirely. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
More pre-rolls coming back positive for mold and yeast
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A local lab says many of the products that it tested show high amounts of mold, yeast, even salmonella in pre-rolls, and this is not the first time. Havard Industries Lab first sounded the alarm last summer. High amounts of mold and yeast found in pre-rolls They're concerned that those who should be implementing and checking test samples are not. 'I believe it was 14 samples if I, if I'm remembering correctly, out of the 20 that also had failed from the mold and yeast again,' said Jeffrey Havard with Havard Industries. In July 2024, News 4 spoke with Jeffrey Havard about concerns with microbial testing in pre-rolls. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) changed the rules and regulations to mandate final form testing. 'We were just seeing if having the regulations change, if it had any effect on reducing or eliminating the failures on these prior samples,' Havard said. 'We found that the number was pretty much the same failure rate as we were seeing before.' They tested 20 pre-rolls that were on the shelves, ready for purchase. 14 came back positive for mold and yeast, two for Salmonella. 'Even though there's a regulation in place now to do testing of the mold and yeast on these panels, I think it's going to come down more to like investigating enforcement to make sure that it's being done, checking the results,' said Havard. Havard went on to say that they have shared these new findings with the OMMA. 'Communications with the OMMA has been kind of limited overall, but we have presented our reports, we have tried to discuss the topics as much as we can,' Havard said. We contacted the OMMA, and they declined an on-camera interview, but told News 4 they monitor microbial testing through a state inventory tracking system. Licensees have been required to use the state inventory tracking system since 2022. If microbial tests are incomplete, the status of the product in the state inventory tracking system is 'Testing in Progress.' Only products in 'Test Passed' status in the state inventory tracking system can be legally transferred or sold to dispensaries and then sold to patients. It is illegal to sell untested or failed products in a dispensary. Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Havard says the pre-rolls that came back positive for mold and yeast were marked 'test passed.' He worries the state isn't doing enough to confirm its own test results before sending products to the market. 'I think it's going to come down more to like investigating enforcement to make sure that it's being done, checking the results,' Havard said. We monitor state inventory tracking data and conduct inspections of licensed labs. Inspections involve a review of the lab's adherence to OMMA regulations, which include quality control and quality assurance. In June 2024, more specific testing standards, including microbiology, were implemented following guidance provided by a statutorily mandated (House Bill 4056) collaboration between OMMA and licensed laboratories in 2023. These standards provide more specifics in OMMA rules regarding quality control of testing methods. Read more about this here. Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Last November, the OMMA unveiled plans for a lab to provide more accurate testing. It was supposed to take about 90 days to get things up and running. News 4 asked about the status of the lab. The lab will be fully operational this year, with a goal of testing 400 samples per month. Our first instrument, the HPLC is on-site with more instruments being delivered in the coming days and weeks. The lab is fully staffed and construction is complete. Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority We also asked if the lab is operating at any capacity right now, and when it will be fully operational, but we did not hear back. In the meantime, Havard says they will keep doing their own tests. 'By doing these public reports like we're doing and putting the data out there, that it's actually giving information and bringing awareness to the fact that, like there a problem in these particular types of products,' Havard said. Havard said they have also been communicating with state lawmakers to try and incorporate better legislation to address the issues with microbial testing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
