Roughly 300 Oklahoma medical marijuana businesses has sued the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) after the agency revoked 300 licenses tied to a single owner.
The medical marijuana businesses, all with the same co-owner, suddenly lost their licenses recently.
Attorney Rachel Bussett filed cases on behalf of three marijuana growers that were recently notified their licenses have been revoked by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA).
The owners of the three businesses were located in McClain, Le Flore, and Delaware Counties and have all moved from out-of-state to capitalize on Oklahoma’s budding marijuana industry.
“This is their livelihood. I mean they literally gave up everything to come here to do it,” Bussett said. “The more that I work with these people, it’s clear they weren’t given proper advice and guidance.”
Former law firm employee, Kathleen Windler, was listed as a co-owner of all three businesses.
Bussett had said that the businesses hired the Tulsa-based firm Jones Brown Law for help obtaining licenses and legal advice upon moving to Oklahoma.
The law in Oklahoma requires that one or multiple Oklahoma residents make up 75% of the ownership of medical marijuana businesses.
Bussett said Jones Brown told the business owners that their employee, Windler, would serve as a “third-party resident” to satisfy the in-state requirement.
“Jones Brown (Law) introduced Ms. Windler to my clients as an individual who could help them become licensed,” she said. “They believed that what they were doing was lawful.”
Windler was listed as a co-owner of approximately 300 medical marijuana businesses by August. She had then surrendered her ownership of every business, putting them all in jeopardy.
The letter, obtained by News 9 said, “your medical marijuana business must cease operations immediately.”
“They were very stressed,” Bussett said of her clients. “These people have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars… to come here and establish a business. Now all of a sudden, this business license is being revoked.”
“It’s our contention that there should be an administrative procedure before those licenses are revoked,” she said.
“The OMMA is aware of the recent legal actions taken by business owners regarding the surrender of licenses by Kathleen Windler,” said OMMA Spokesperson Kelsey Pagonis. “We plan to address these actions accordingly.”
