For the second time in three weeks, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) has taken immediate action to shut down the call center and divert the limited staffing to help clear the flood of filed licensing applications. The law mandates that all applications be processed in 14 days, since patients often need immediate relief from many serious conditions such as severe nausea from chemotherapy & other cancer treatments, and to replace dangerous opiate drugs which have become addictive and less effective.
  In November (the first full month that cannabis medicines were legal to dispense), the load of patient applications to process was about 6500. In February it was over 20,000.
  This past August, the Director of the Oklahoma Dept. of Health, Tom Bates; told the bicameral Legislative Interim Study that he expected about 80,000 total licenses to be issued in the first full year. But in the first 6 months we are already in excess of 57,000 and adding to that number by over 5000 per week. At this rate the total will be double what the ODH director projected in his legislative testimony.
  While patient information is strictly confidential, by federal law, the OMMA says that "a good portion of the patient applicants are over 60 years old."  This further dispels the derogatory claims of opponents who characterize the program as a thinly veiled recreational drug use accommodation. ​

  The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority nearly doubled it's output, last week. Over 5200 patients were approved for medical care with cannabis medicines. The previous record was set in mid December when 4300 patients got good news in the Christmas season.

  Last August, the Director of the Oklahoma Department of Health, Tom Bates; told the Legislative  Interim Study on Medical Marijuana that he projects the granting of 80 thousand licensures for medical marijuana.  That total would include less than 10 thousand Medical Marijuana business licenses. 
  But the first 5 months are showing us a different trend.  While the first 2 months (Sept. & Oct.) saw about 1 thousand patient licenses granted each week, the next 3 months are showing a steady expansion of volume. This is attributed to a few factors.
  Director Bates said he used the Arizona model for his projections. But Oklahoma has dynamics that we don't see in any other state.  Home grow is an essential piece of the Oklahoma rollout. It impacts economic access to medicines for those disabled Oklahomans who simply cannot pay $400 for a meager monthly supply, for their condition. Some health conditions require an even more intense treatment.

  Currently the OMMA (the health department's division which oversees medical marijuana) is granting around 2700 patient licenses per week. If the current activity continues at this rate, by the time we reach the first anniversary of the August 25th rollout, our patient license count will be 117,000 .