Oklahoma native Travis Kirkpatrick is the new director of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. Kirkpatrick has served as interim director for the last 90 days. Health Commissioner Gary Cox said he made the decision based on Kirkpatrick’s leadership at the authority over the last few months.
“We are excited about the leadership of Travis and his focus on being an efficient and effective organization that serves the citizens of the state,” said Cox. “During his three months, Kirkpatrick has reopened the call center, which is now handling approximately 300 calls a day, hired a compliance manager to ensure the dispensaries across the state are in compliance with state laws, and worked to open the lines of communication with the business community and the patients.”
Kirkpatrick praised the staff for its passion and dedication saying “that is something that drives me every day as I seek to innovate and lead us toward the goals we have been provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Health leadership and the Governor. My goal is to continue to work with the patients, dispensary owners and growers as this authority meets the guidelines set out by the voters and by the Legislature.”
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority was created by a vote of the people, July 26, 2018. The state question allowed for both licenses to sell and to purchase medical marijuana with a physician’s prescription. Additional regulatory authority was written into the “unity bill” passed by the legislature just months before Kirkpatrick’s arrival. There are currently more than 246,000 patient, caregiver, grower, processor, dispensary, and transportation licenses for marijuana in Oklahoma, all handled by OMMA.
Travis Kirkpatrick is a Public Administration professional with more than 15 years of service to the State of Oklahoma. He brings a multitude of experience in bureaucratic process gained via his roles in several state agencies.
A native Oklahoman, Kirkpatrick holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Oklahoma. In his spare time, he volunteers on several community non-profit boards and enjoys watching his children play soccer.