The Oklahoma medical marijuana market contracted by about 38% over a 12-month period from July 2023 to last summer, according to a newly released state report.

The statistics were shared by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) in an update report filed with the state legislature, which stated that the industry as of July 2024 stood at 6,937 licensed operators, down from 11,330 the prior summer, which itself was down from more than 14,000 businesses.

While the market contraction in the free-wheeling cannabis market has been happening for years now, the scale of business closures is eye-opening, and it’s a direct result of focused enforcement efforts by both regulators and law enforcement, according to the report.

“We collectively spent the last three years focusing intently on enforcement efforts, bringing the industry into compliance with OMMA rules and identifying fraudulent activity on the front end through rigorous commercial license application review,” OMMA Director Adria Berry wrote in the report.

“We forged strong partnerships with the state Attorney General’s Office and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control to tackle enforcement together … Our goal is to hold accountable operators who prioritize profits over public health and safety,” Berry wrote.

The biggest drop in businesses was among licensed cultivators, which went from 6,497 two years ago to 3,645 as of last July, a plunge of 43%.

Retailers and processors also shrank, albeit by smaller numbers, but still with drastic margins.

The number of legal dispensaries went to 2,081 from 2,852, a drop of 27%, while the number of processors declined to 1,092 from 1,792, a dip of 39%, all between July 2023 and July 2024, the OMMA reported.

The number of registered medical marijuana patients also declined to 344,556 from 353,437, a drop of about 3%, the OMMA reported.

The OMMA’s analysis was first reported by the Tulsa World.

OMMA Annual Report FY 2024