Cannabis advocates say state’s claims of overproduction are inflated
April 2, 2025
THIS REPORT FOR US TONIGHT? YEAH, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THIS REPORT RIGHT HERE FILED BY THE TEXOMA HIGH INTENSITY DRUG TRAFFICKING AREA. IT WAS FIRST COMMISSIONED BY SENATOR LANKFORD. NOW, WE KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF ILLEGAL GROW OPS THAT ARE TIED TO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. THERE’S NO DENYING THAT FROM THIS GROUP. BUT WHAT OKLAHOMANS FOR RESPONSIBLE CANNABIS ACTION IS CLAIMING IS PRETTY MUCH ALL THE OTHER FINDINGS ARE INFLATED. THE NUMBERS ARE ABSOLUTELY ALL WRONG. JED GREENE WITH OKLAHOMANS FOR RESPONSIBLE CANNABIS ACTION SAYS THIS REPORT, COMMISSIONED BY THE STATE FOR IMPACTS ON MARIJUANA IN OKLAHOMA, NEEDS A SECOND LOOK IS PATENTLY FALSE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT SENATOR LANKFORD IS DOING, AS IS HE’S WONT TO DO, IS TO BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST HIS NEIGHBORS. LET’S START WITH THE OVERSUPPLY CLAIMS, WHICH OBAMA ADDRESSED AT A PRESS CONFERENCE FRIDAY. OKLAHOMA PRODUCES 32 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF MARIJUANA THAT IS NEEDED, NOT JUST FOR THE LEGAL. THE NUMBERS THAT ARE BEING USED IN THIS STUDY ARE BASED OFF OF A PLANT THAT IS FRESHLY CUT DOWN AND WET. ONCE A PLANT IS DRIED, IT LOSES UP TO 75% OF ITS WEIGHT. GREENE SAYS THE ACTUAL AMOUNT IS WAY LESS BECAUSE THE STUDY DIDN’T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE STALKS, STEMS, AND FAN LEAVES COMPOSTED OR SENT TO WASTE. NOR IS IT CONSIDERING WHAT’S ACTUALLY BEING USED FOR CONCENTRATE. THIS IS SIMPLE MISDIRECTION AND BLAMING THEIR FAILURE ON OUR INDUSTRY. NEXT UP, WE’VE SEEN AN INCREDIBLE UPTICK IN VIOLENT CRIMES. CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS AND CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY THAT IS DIRECTLY CORRELATES TO WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS, WITH MARIJUANA HERE IN THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA. THE DATA THE STUDY USED IS FROM 2019 TO 2023. IT WAS THE PANDEMIC WHEN EVERYONE IS STOVED UP AT HOME IN QUARANTINE TOGETHER, YOU’RE KIND OF A LOT HIGHER INCIDENCE OF ANYTHING FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, PROPERTY CRIMES TO, YOU KNOW, PEDIATRIC OVERDOSES BECAUSE THEY’RE LOCKED UP IN THE HOUSE. AND LASTLY, TEENS DYING IN CRASHES WITH MARIJUANA IN THEIR SYSTEM. WHAT THEY DON’T SAY IS THAT WHEN THEY DO THIS SORT OF TESTING IN A FATALITY, THAT DOES NOT INDICATE IF THE PERSON WAS IMPAIRED AT THE TIME, THEY ARE TESTING FOR THC METABOLITES, WHICH REMAIN IN YOUR SYSTEM FOR UP TO THREE WEEKS AFTER CONSUMPTION. AND I DID ALSO REACH OUT TO BOTH OBAMA AND SENATOR LANKFORD’S OFFICE TODAY, AND I BROUGHT THEM WHAT GREEN SAID IN RESPONSE TO THE STUDY. OBI DECLINED TO COMMENT. LANKFORD’S OFFIC
Cannabis advocates say state’s claims of overproduction are inflated
A group hoping to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma said the state’s claims that there has been an overproduction of cannabis have been exaggerated.
A group hoping to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma said the state’s claims that there has been an overproduction of cannabis have been exaggerated. Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action didn’t deny that there is illegal grow operations tied to criminal activity in Oklahoma, but the group said a report filed by the Texoma High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area was inflated. “The numbers are absolutely all wrong,” Jed Green, who is with Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, said. He said the report was commissioned by the state to identify the impacts of marijuana on Oklahoma, and it needs a second look. “Patently false. At the end of the day, what Sen. (James) Lankford is doing… is to bear false witness against his neighbors,” Green said. >> Video Below: Petition to renew push to bring recreational marijuana to OklahomaThe Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics addressed claims of oversupply at a news conference last week, saying the state produces 32 times the amount of marijuana that is needed in the state. “The numbers that are being used in this study are based off of a plant that is freshly cut down and wet. Once a plant is dried, it loses up to 75% of its weight,” Green said. Green said the actual number is much lower, because the study didn’t take into account the stalks, stems and fan leaves composted or sent to waste, nor is it considering what is actually being used for concentrate. “This is simple misdirection and blaming their failure on our industry,” Green said. >> Video Below: Oklahoma to crack down on marijuana industryThe OBN news conference also addressed an uptick in violent crime from 2019 to 2023. The agency said these crimes directly correlated to the criminal organizations related to marijuana in Oklahoma. “It was the pandemic,” Green said. “Everyone is starved up at home in quarantine together. You’re going to have a lot higher incidence of anything from domestic violence, property crimes to, you know, pediatric overdoses because they’re locked up in the house.” The OBN also said teenagers have recently died in crashes with marijuana in their system. “What they don’t say is that when they do this sort of testing in a fatality, that does not indicate if the person was impaired at the time. They’re testing for THC metabolites, which remain in your system for up to three weeks after consumption,” Green said. >> Download the KOCO 5 App | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channelKOCO 5 reached out to OBN and Lankford’s office for comment. OBN declined, and Lankford’s office has not yet responded. Top Headlines Severe storms move through Oklahoma, with tornado touching down in Owasso Val Kilmer, iconic ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Batman Forever’ star, dies at 65 Damage found after radar-confirmed tornado touches down in Owasso Wedding photos mysteriously appeared on a Missouri lawn. It turned out they took a remarkable journey ELECTION RESULTS: Oklahomans cast votes on local elections statewide Tuesday
A group hoping to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma said the state’s claims that there has been an overproduction of cannabis have been exaggerated.
Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action didn’t deny that there is illegal grow operations tied to criminal activity in Oklahoma, but the group said a report filed by the Texoma High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area was inflated.
“The numbers are absolutely all wrong,” Jed Green, who is with Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, said.
He said the report was commissioned by the state to identify the impacts of marijuana on Oklahoma, and it needs a second look.
“Patently false. At the end of the day, what Sen. (James) Lankford is doing… is to bear false witness against his neighbors,” Green said.
>> Video Below: Petition to renew push to bring recreational marijuana to Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics addressed claims of oversupply at a news conference last week, saying the state produces 32 times the amount of marijuana that is needed in the state.
“The numbers that are being used in this study are based off of a plant that is freshly cut down and wet. Once a plant is dried, it loses up to 75% of its weight,” Green said.
Green said the actual number is much lower, because the study didn’t take into account the stalks, stems and fan leaves composted or sent to waste, nor is it considering what is actually being used for concentrate.
“This is simple misdirection and blaming their failure on our industry,” Green said.
>> Video Below: Oklahoma to crack down on marijuana industry
The OBN news conference also addressed an uptick in violent crime from 2019 to 2023. The agency said these crimes directly correlated to the criminal organizations related to marijuana in Oklahoma.
“It was the pandemic,” Green said. “Everyone is starved up at home in quarantine together. You’re going to have a lot higher incidence of anything from domestic violence, property crimes to, you know, pediatric overdoses because they’re locked up in the house.”
The OBN also said teenagers have recently died in crashes with marijuana in their system.
“What they don’t say is that when they do this sort of testing in a fatality, that does not indicate if the person was impaired at the time. They’re testing for THC metabolites, which remain in your system for up to three weeks after consumption,” Green said.
>> Download the KOCO 5 App | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel
KOCO 5 reached out to OBN and Lankford’s office for comment. OBN declined, and Lankford’s office has not yet responded.
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