Moore PD Says Medical Marijuana Dispensary Is Too Close To School

The owner of Ivy League Cannabis said his shop on Southeast 4^th Street is open for business.  

While the dispensary was approved by the state months earlier, police said there is a big problem. It’s too close to a public school, Vista Academy, which is part of Moore Public Schools.

“We received a call from an employee of the school that was concerned that it was possibly too close to Vista Day School,” said Sgt. Jeremy Lewis of the Moore Police Department.

Officers went to investigate the claims. They said Vista is approximately 600 to 700 feet from the shop. State law mandates that dispensaries remain 1,000 feet away from public schools.

“We began looking into as to who is supposed to enforce this. How did this happen? How did they get the license?” said Sgt. Lewis.

Sgt. Lewis said he has tried to contact the city and state officials to find out who enforces this new law.

News 9 also contacted those agencies about a week ago, and they have not yet offered clarification.

Thursday, March 7, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority released the following statement:

“OMMA is aware of and currently looking into this situation. OMMA will need to review the information further before making a determination.” – Spokeswoman Melissa Miller 

Until then, Ivy League Cannabis said they aren’t changing their day-to-day. As far as the know, they are compliant with the state.

“We did all the research. We triple checked with the state just to make sure,” said Owner Jason Greene. “We went through all the proper channels, and that's all I can do. They wanna [sic] make a decision, that's on them and we will handle it.”

Greene said when he reviewed maps of the property, Vista Academy was not listed as a nearby school.

Greene said he invested heavily in his property, both in time and resources.

Vista functions as an alternative school for Moore students. Sgt. Lewis said the school also employs Moore teachers.

Greene said the state has not contacted him. He said until they do, there is really nothing to discuss.

Greene does operate a number of other metro dispensaries, and they are all in compliance.

“We have opened up five locations. They are franchise stores, just cause we have another store doesn't mean that this one just goes away. We have lost months of our life building this business. So, it's not a small thing,” he said.

Moore Police Department said the shop will have to be relocated. It’s just unclear when, or how that would happen.

Moore Public Schools sent News 9 the following statement Thursday:

“Moore Public Schools is not going to comment regarding the Ivy League dispensary opening on S. 4th St. VISTA is one of our 35 schools. Oklahoma law has established parameters regarding this concern.”

Stay with News 9 and News9.com for updates.