OBN Director: Okla. No Longer ‘Wild West Of Weed,’ Large Grow Farm Raided In Ardmore

Oklahoma’s marijuana program is no longer viewed nationally as the “wild west of weed.” That’s according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Director Donnie Anderson.

“Oklahoma now has gained a proud reputation for having some of the most efficient and effective regulatory oversight and criminal enforcement of any medical marijuana state,” Anderson said.

OBN attributes a lot of that to a special team created several years ago, which focuses full-time on illegal grow operations.

“Almost every day, our Marijuana Enforcement Team at the Bureau of Narcotics is serving a warrant,” said Mark Woodward, OBN spokesman.

Image Provided By: OBN

Woodward says those operations are either operating with a fraudulent license, growing for the out-of-state black market, or in a lot of cases, both.

“Whether they were tied to Mexican cartels, the Chinese organized crime, the Russian Bulgarian, you name it we've identified them,” said Woodward.

He says during the pandemic, a rush of these criminal organizations invaded Oklahoma, finding a local person to front the operation.

Image Provided By: OBN

“That has played out thousands of times,” said Woodward. “Where at our peak three years ago we were at 9,400 grows, about 80 percent of those were Chinese linked to organized crime that was supplying the black market on the east coast,” he said. 

The latest raid in Ardmore was one of the agency's largest. The Search Warrant was executed at 1420 Smokey Ridge Road where agents seized 106,062 marijuana plants and 1,120 pounds of processed marijuana. Two arrests were made. Wen Bin Haung and Wen Zhang Huang were taken into custody where they face a variety of charges, including aggravated trafficking of marijuana. OBN says the investigation into this location began in November of 2023.

Image Provided By: OBN

“It's shell game that these criminals know how to play sometimes they will get eight or nine licenses for one property,” Woodward said. “During the investigation, OBN Agents identified people going to the farm and illegally purchasing more than 50 pounds of marijuana per visit.”

However, Woodward says the agency is on to this game and has seen a dramatic reduction of criminal organizations operating illegal farms in Oklahoma. In fact, OBN registrations for growers dropped from 9,400 in 2021, to 6,400 in 2022, and today that number is down to approximately 3,000.  

“Every license is going under a microscope now and we're bringing them in and sitting across the table walking them through their paperwork,” he said. “We may be close to a thousand within the next couple of months as we continue these ongoing investigations.”

Image Provided By: OBN

Sending a new message to those looking to profit here illegally.

“The word's gotten out, don't go to Oklahoma if you're a criminal, because you're going to go to jail,” Woodward said.

OBN says local people who agree to be a front could also face criminal charges. Meanwhile, the state is not processing any new applications for dispensary, grower, and processor licenses. That moratorium does not affect current licensees, who wish to apply for a renewal.

Photos provided by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.