Oregon Cannabis Business Consulting

The OMMP regulates patients, growers, processors, dispensaries, property owners, and testing labs, and also provides guidelines for physicians who prescribe marijuana. While the cost of a medical marijuana dispensary license application is low compared to other states ($3500 plus $500 non-refundable application fee), other application requirements raise the difficulty for acquiring such a license. An applicant must submit highly detailed information on the proposed location’s zoning, and maintain a 1,000-foot distance from schools. and details about the marijuana facility itself. The OMMP also sets specific allowances for numbers of plants grown for medical use.

Medical regulations in Oregon restrict the number of mature plants cultivated by growers and have led to close patient-caregiver relationships. Transfers of cannabis products between caregivers and dispensaries can be approved by the OMMP with a patient’s authorization, and growers can sell directly to dispensaries with the correct documentation. Smaller-scale medical marijuana and specialty businesses are possible with this structure of Oregon medical marijuana licensing.

As of August 2020, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) has reported 2,259 active marijuana business licenses. Issued OLCC marijuana licenses include 1,146 producers, 246 processors, 172 wholesalers, 21 laboratories, 673 retailers, and one research license. The recreational marijuana license application process is significantly different from the Oregon’s medical licensing process.

According to the OLCC, marijuana license applicants include “..any individual or legal entity who holds or controls an interest of ten percent (10%) or more in a recreational marijuana business, as well as any individual or entity who has an “Ownership Interest” in the business”. Numerous financial interests must also be disclosed, by applicants. The licensing system does allow for changes in financial interest to be made after a license is acquired, but any increase in financial interest over 51% also requires a change in ownership and further licensing requirements.

In Oregon, hemp is regulated separately from medical and adult-use cannabis. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) has regulated hemp since 2015. In January 2020, the director of the ODA expressed concerns at the low number of labs available to meet federally mandated testing standards. According to the ODA website, hemp businesses will continue to operate under the state’s rules for the 2020 growing season.