What growers need to know about new signage requirements and sensitive crop registry
New rules go into effect November 1st requiring medical marijuana commercial grower licensees to display signage and register with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.
Senate Bill 1737, signed into law earlier this year, requires all commercial growers to display certain signage and all grow licensees who operate outdoors to register as an environmentally sensitive crop owner with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry.
The Act goes into effect November 1st, and as simple as the new requirements may seem, failure to implement them could cost you your license.
OUTDOOR GROWERS
Beginning November 1, 2022, all medical marijuana commercial grower licensees who operate an outdoors are required to register with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry as an environmentally sensitive crop owner.
There are millions of acres of cropland in Oklahoma and thousands of traditional farms now neighboring cannabis grows. The requirement to register with the ODAFF as a sensitive crop owner is to minimize the potential for damaging pesticide drift by enabling the department to notify pesticide applicators where medical marijuana crops are located.
ALL GROWERS
All medical marijuana commercial grower licensees are required to post signage at the site of the commercial grow operation. The law states that signage must be located at the perimeter of the property with dimensions measuring no less than eighteen (18) inches by twenty-four (24) inches with a font size of no less than two (2) inches. Information required to be displayed on the sign must be in black standardized font on a white background. No fancy designs or branded imaging.
The following information must be included on the required signage:
1. Business name;
2. Physical address of the licensed business;
3. Phone number of the licensed business; and
4. Medical marijuana business license number.
The required signage must also comply with any county regulations and local ordinances related to the property where the commercial grow operation is located.
The law further states failure to erect the proper signage within sixty (60) days after the renewal of each application for a medical marijuana commercial grower license will result in the immediate revocation of the license.
Compliance check
Keeping up with regulatory change in a heavily regulated industry like the cannabis industry is essential. It’s our job at Gies Law Firm to stay on top of the ever-changing legal landscape of Oklahoma cannabis for our clients and ensure their constant compliance. Our retainer services can include on-site visits and pre-inspection checks that ensure your business passes each OMMA inspection at any moment.
If you are looking for an Oklahoma cannabis attorney to take care of the mental load of keeping up with all things compliance so you can tend to the growth of your business, contact us today.
