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The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority notified staffers on Tuesday of a 10% reduction in the agency's workforce and plans to reorganize as it “right sizes” to meet the needs of a shrinking industry in the state.
The reduction affects 25 to 30 employees, OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry said.
“With commercial license numbers decreasing, it was imperative we find efficiencies in our operations,”
Berry said in an email to employees shared with the Tulsa World. “In the coming weeks, we will introduce the new organizational structure for our agency. Your expertise and ideas will be crucial in this phase.”
There are currently about 6,615 OMMA-licensed businesses in the state, but the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, grower operations and other licensed operations has been in decline, down by more than 25% since the start of 2023.
In a recent interview with the World, Berry said low wholesale prices that have resulted from an oversupply of marijuana grown in Oklahoma triggered difficulties for many businesses.
As the industry faced growing pains in recent years and reports of flourishing illegal marijuana grow operations, the Oklahoma Legislature ordered a moratorium on new marijuana business licensing. The moratorium on new growers, processors and dispensaries has been ordered to remain in place until 2026.
The OMMA has been criticized for being behind in renewing existing business licenses and in processing ownership transfer requests.
In the email, Berry indicated that core responsibilities of the OMMA will not be affected by the layoffs.
“Positions that no longer serve the needs of the agency were eliminated so we can restructure OMMA in a way that aligns with our mission,” she said. “Righting this ship meant taking a hard look at where we are spending our time and energy as an agency in light of decreasing commercial license numbers and a limited appropriated budget.”
Berry said no additional layoffs are planned at this time. People whose positions were eliminated were offered severance packages and an opportunity to continue receiving health insurance coverage.
The Legislature authorized a 2025 budget for the OMMA of $41.9 million. The agency had requested $45.8 million, which would have represented a 23.7% increase over the $37 million allocated for 2024.
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