Industry presses OMMA and OBNDD for faster coordination to curb unregulated products

Business representatives, council members and OBNDD officials spent a substantial portion of the meeting discussing enforcement of unregulated products sometimes called 'gas station weed' and how agencies should coordinate when OBNDD takes criminal enforcement action.

Taras Flinko told the council he has seen a discrepancy between public counts of active cultivate licenses and what operators are observing in the field, saying OMMA's portal had shown roughly 1,400 active cultivator licenses while on-the-ground estimates ran closer to 2,100–2,200. He asked whether OBNDD seizure actions should trigger immediate movement to deactivate OMMA licenses and block transactions in Metrc so businesses cannot continue to operate.

Josh McGoldrick, general counsel for OBNDD (introduced by Director Berry earlier in the meeting), said OBNDD's regulatory authority over medical marijuana registration is not criminal authority; criminal enforcement often involves warrants and litigation and may be handled in partnership with local law enforcement. He said OBNDD has pursued cases related to mislabeled or unregulated products, including a federal matter cited in the meeting, but that he could not detail open litigation on the record. McGoldrick and OMMA staff said coordination and weekly data exchange have improved recently, which helps OMMA take administrative steps (such as emergency suspensions) when appropriate.

Industry speakers asked for clearer signals in public data about whether a given business has both OMMA and OBNDD registrations active. OMMA staff acknowledged the difference in roles and said the agency is working to improve coordination, noting that OMMA can suspend administrative privileges but must follow due-process procedures when taking licensing action.