Oklahomans thought they were voting limit access to marijuana when they approved a constitutional amendment – State Question 788 – to legalize medical marijuana.

That’s not what happened. Thousands of voters were fooled. The net effect of that cleverly written petition was the de facto legalization of recreational marijuana in the state.

Marijuana permits are easy to get. Dispensaries popped up all over the place. And investors outside Oklahoma – including some outside the United States – spent millions for shady marijuana farms.

And now Oklahoma is a big producer of pot for other states.

Since it was a constitutional amendment, the Legislature was somewhat hand-cuffed in ways to curtain this gigantic industry.

In this year’s session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1367, which increases the penalties for those who purchase medical marijuana and then sell the product to non-cardholders. It increases the fine for a person who intentionally or improperly diverts medical marijuana from $200 to $400 on the first offense, and from $500 to $1,000 on the second offense. If someone is caught a third time, they could lose their medical marijuana license. SB 1367 also increases the fines for sales or transfers of medical marijuana to unauthorized persons to $5,000 for the first violation and $15,000 for subsequent violations.

This could slow the black market.

HB 3530 creates an annual grant program funded by $5 million which would provide county sheriffs close to $65,000 for one year and would require one deputy to be assigned to assist state compliance inspectors.

The bill comes after compliance inspectors were denied access to properties 181 times between April 2021 and Feb. 2022. This accounts for 9.6% of all inspections during that period.

These bills won’t solve the problem but at least they are a shot over the bow for marijuana producers who are breaking the law and harming our state.