OMMA Announces Partnership With NCS Analytics

Monday, March 14, 2022

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) has announced a partnership with NCS Analytics to establish a statewide data analytics platform to monitor and regulate commercial licensee operations. The platform will enable more effective regulation of the industry and enforcement of the rules and regulations surrounding the legal production and sale of medical marijuana in Oklahoma.

The NCS Platform is an advanced analytics application that will aggregate and analyze data in real-time from across the supply chain, helping to identify anomalies OMMA staff may need to investigate, including potential diversion, improper financial relationships, or underpayment of excise taxes.

“One of the biggest problems facing the industry right now are the illegitimate businesses,” said OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry. “They’re able to undercut the businesses that are trying to do things the right way, be good neighbors, and survive in this industry. This partnership with NCS Analytics is yet another recent step forward on our path to rooting out the bad actors. Not only will we be able to make data-driven decisions in real time, but we’ll be alerted when data doesn’t add up, signaling potential criminal activity. We’re all eager to get this partnership under way and see what’s really happening in the industry around the state.”

Foundational to the data-driven solutions NCS provides is their Transparency Project, a collaborative effort to increase understanding and awareness of the industry. This data will be shared in an easy-to-understand dashboard that will be available to the public 24/7. The OMMA will curate which data points to include in the dashboard.

“We are very excited about our partnership with the OMMA,” said NCS Analytics CEO Adam Crabtree. “We have long argued that data is the core of responsible and effective regulation and that transparency is the cornerstone of good government. It will be great to show how impactful data sharing really can be. We hope this will raise awareness locally and increase others’ understanding of this rapidly growing industry.”

Once Oklahoma’s inventory tracking system has been implemented in late May 2022, the NCS Platform will work in concert with Metrc, the state’s seed-to-sale vendor, to compile and evaluate the data Metrc tracks, including plant counts, type of product sold at dispensaries by type, licensee numbers and more.

While awaiting Metrc implementation, NCS will be working to aggregate and analyze monthly reporting data and alert OMMA of past or existing anomalies that need to be evaluated. They will also be working with OMMA to customize the NCS reporting and alert tools to ensure the most pressing issues for Oklahoma are addressed first.

To see an example of a customizable dashboard created through the Transparency Project, click here.

About NCS Analytics 

Since 2015, Denver-based NCS Analytics has operated under its founding principle of empowering real-time critical decision making. By aggregating diverse data streams, NCS provides governments and financial institutions with actionable intelligence to monitor and regulate high-risk industries to prevent fraud and reduce risk exposure. NCS solutions bring a new level of refinement and reliable data to emerging industries. For more information, please visit www.ncsanalytics.com.

About the OMMA

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) was established in 2018 with the passage of State Question 788. The OMMA serves as the regulatory authority for medical marijuana in Oklahoma. Working with patients, licensees, physicians and business owners, the OMMA exists to facilitate fair policy and regulations to ensure a safe product. The OMMA currently serves nearly 400,000 licensees, and has become one of the fastest-growing medical marijuana authorities in the country. For more information about the OMMA, visit oklahoma.gov/omma.  

This post originally appeared on Oklahoma.gov.