The DEA recently released a list of applicants by state. Topping the list is Oklahoma, accounting for more than 40% of the remaining applications, followed by states like California, Maine, and Pennsylvania.
Among them is New Mexico, with 96 applications, some approved but unidentified, and others denied with little explanation. Which, as it turns out, may have been a blessing in disguise.
Many Inks
What has yet to be defined is how dual-use states are going to differentiate between products intended for state-licensed programs and those designated for Schedule III transactions. Especially when those products originate from the same physical location.
In states like New Mexico, will NMS2S remain the state tracking system while the DEA implements its own? There is already a federal system called ARCOS, which tracks certain controlled substances but does not cover all Schedule III drugs.
How that would work has yet to be determined.
While New Mexico accounts for only 96 applications, the state has an ongoing history with the DEA and federally authorized cultivation.
Bright Green Goes Dark
In May 2023, Bright Green, a company that once pitched investors on an expansive federal research facility in partnership with the Pueblo of Acoma in rural New Mexico, announced it had received approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to begin cultivation at its 100-acre campus near Grants.
Bright Green claimed to be the first publicly traded company federally authorized to cultivate. The approval allowed the company to begin operations at its 22-acre greenhouse in Grants.
But following allegations of misuse of funds and several major lawsuits, Bright Green Corporation is set to merge out of existence. Its assets, DEA registrations, and Nasdaq history will be absorbed into PharmAGRI Capital Partners.
AI Growers
One of the hardest parts of operating a rural cultivation facility is staffing. Transporting employees or housing them on-site gets expensive.
Now, Bright Green has become something of a skunkworks laboratory for the future of cultivation.
According to a Yahoo Business article:
"PharmAGRI's vertically integrated 'seed to prescription drug' model aligns DEA quota with federal contract obligations, enabling predictable scaling and secure sourcing. The company has executed a Letter of Intent with Tesla to deploy up to 10,000 Optimus Gen3+ humanoid robots across its SuperPharm and CEA facilities, automating labor and ensuring diversion control."
While some operators are still figuring out their printers, there's apparently a lab somewhere in the desert with a bunch of iRobots growing mids.
How those robotic servos and gears react to resin from plants is going to be interesting. Even my grinder gets resin-locked sometimes.
Green Pastures
Oklahoma is an unusual case. It doesn't have an adult-use market, yet it accounts for more than 40% of the DEA's remaining timely applications.
According to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA), its November 2, 2026, licensing report shows:
Growers: 1,582
Dispensaries: 1,226
Processors: 545
That's 3,353 active cultivation, processing, and dispensary licenses in a single medical-only state, plus another 42 transportation licenses.
Oklahoma's market developed with relatively low business licensing costs, no initial statewide numerical license cap, and broad patient access.
The state's Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency identified these factors in its 2022 review.
Since then, Oklahoma has introduced tighter controls and a licensing moratorium, now extended through August 2028.
Second Wave
Next month, the hemp ban is set to take effect, potentially eliminating competition for medical operators in some states.
But for dual-use states, we're still stuck in limbo. Schedule 3 activities and products have not been defined, neither has the list of approved supply chain partners.
So even if you got approved, your suddenly land locked to a significantly smaller list of options. Which may have been the point
