Oklahoma’s Illicit Marijuana Market Worth Over $100 Billion
A recent report by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and the Texoma High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area has revealed that the state’s illegal marijuana market is worth over $100 billion. The report found that between March 2024 and March 2025, state tracking systems failed to account for approximately 70 million pounds of marijuana, which is nearly 30 times the amount needed to supply Oklahoma’s 300,000 licensed medical marijuana patients.
The report also found that the amount of lost marijuana has tripled over the past two years, from 22 million pounds in 2022-2023 to 70 million pounds in 2024-2025. Despite years of enforcement, Oklahoma’s illicit market has continued to thrive, with illegal farms run by Chinese criminal groups being a major contributor to the problem.
The report’s findings were presented at a press conference, where officials called for legislative action to address the issue. The director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, Donnie Anderson, urged lawmakers to commission a formal study to determine how much marijuana is needed for the state’s medical market and to develop production limits for grows based on the findings.
Anderson also emphasized that the state’s lack of limits on marijuana production is a major contributor to the problem, as it allows criminal operations to tag plants to appear legal and then remove the tags before diverting the product to the black market. The report estimates that the diverted supply could be worth between $126 billion and $245 billion, which is more than the state’s oil industry generated in 2023.
The report also highlighted the human trafficking, environmental problems, and national security risks associated with the illegal industry. Anderson warned that the profits from the illegal marijuana trade are funding transnational organizations that have ties to the Chinese government and are involved in illegal influence operations in the United States.
The issue of Oklahoma’s illegal marijuana market has been a topic of discussion in the state for some time, with some lawmakers arguing that more needs to be done to address the problem. The report’s findings are likely to add fuel to the debate, and it remains to be seen how lawmakers will respond to the issue in the coming months.
