Former Church Turned Illegal Grow Farm

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said they got a tip about a possible grow farm at a former church in McLoud. When investigators showed up, they found more than 500 plants.

Mark Woodward with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said illegal growth farms are popping up across the state.

“We have found them in all types of facilities like empty nursing homes, they've bought out old bowling alleys,” Woodward said.

Woodward said they even set up in churches like this one in McLoud.

Woodward said a citizen opened the door thinking it was still an active church, and he could see and smell marijuana. He left and called OBN.

“They had taken out all the furniture from the sanctuary. There was no church pews or anything like that it was all grow lights,” Woodward said.

Investigators said no arrests have been made yet, but they seized more than 500 plants with around half a million dollars in street value.

“Several of the Sunday school rooms of this church were full of growing live marijuana plants, or they were used as dry rooms,” Woodward said.

OBN said they've shut down more than 800 illegal farms in the last two years and they're investigating around three thousand farms right now for obtaining a license by fraud or selling to the black market.

“We have some of the loosest regulations in the country, the cheapest license in the country, and some of the cheapest land,” Woodward said.

Woodward calls it a perfect storm for illegal operations and bad for honest business owners.