Fight against illegal pot grows continues

Suzie rd, Enid News & Eagle, Okla.

ENID, Okla. — A crackdown on illegal marijuana grows in Oklahoma continues.

Mark Woodward, public information officer and legislation liaison for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, gave an update on the situation during a speech in Enid on Monday, June 9, 2025.

“Oklahoma, with its interstate system and location to the border, has made us a prime location for drug trafficking, human trafficking and money laundering,” Woodward said during an appearance before Enid Rotary Club at Stride Bank Center.

He spoke on the challenges authorities are facing in combating drug cartels in the state.

OBN is charged with minimizing the abuse of controlled substances through law enforcement measures directed primarily at drug trafficking, illicit drug manufacturing and major suppliers of illicit drugs, he said.

“The marijuana laws in Oklahoma made it too easy for Mexican and Chinese cartels to come here and take advantage of the system,” Woodward said. “At least 75% of the ownership of a marijuana farm must be held by an Oklahoma resident, but many Chinese businessmen acquired ownership of a licensed grow facility after the initial licensee was charged with creating fraudulent licenses.”

Often, the initial licensee was an attorney, or someone associated with an attorney, he said.

Woodward said these Chinese businessmen also offered a lifeline to many rural families who needed to sell their property and they gave much more money than the property was worth.

Following a peak of about 9,400 marijuana farms, the Oklahoma Legislature implemented a moratorium on new licenses in 2022, he said, and the state initiated crackdowns and required compliance with regulations.

This led to a significant decrease in the number of licenses to the current estimate of around, 2100 farms, he said.

“We are continuing to clean up the mess,” Woodward said. “Human trafficking and money laundering were a part of this, and we dealt with some of the biggest cartels in Mexico.”

As examples, he said a horse ranch in Lexington was laundering money, and drugs were being picked up at a barn in Thomas.

“These arrests of major players take time,” he said. “It took us from 1998 to 2012 to arrest 110 people.”

Woodward said he hopes the number of marijuana farms in the state is down to about 400 next year and cartel leaders realize Oklahoma is not a safe place to be.

Illegal marijuana isn’t the only illegal drug causing problems.

The current drug giving OBN problems is fentanyl.

“It is dangerous and deadly in extremely small amounts,” Woodward said. “It is being mixed into everything.”

Woodward has been with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics since July 1995.

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