The main rule with cannabis waste is: you can’t just throw it away. The general rule of thumb is anything that has THC or comes into contact with THC has to be ground up and mixed with an aggregate material until it is “unusable and unrecognizable”. This is to prevent any material with THC from being accessed by unauthorized people (think minors, pets…), or from having THC end up in the soil or a water source. For this reason, cannabis waste has to be stored securely and only accessed by authorized personnel.

Packaging or materials that have made contact with cannabis that is not for sale or usable in any way must be designated as cannabis waste. This could include but is not limited to:

• Dirt or sponge used for cultivation.
• Unused cannabis trimmings.
• Unused cannabis.
• Unused oils, extracts, other cannabis liquids.
• Expired, unused, leftover edibles and drinks.
• Unused cannabis grinders.
• Unused cannabis vape pens.
• Unused cannabis capsules, containers, wrappings, packaging, etc.
• Empty nutrition boxes/packaging.

Cannabis waste is essentially regulated very similarly to hazardous waste. In Oklahoma cannabis waste is referred to as “a special regulated waste”, which means it needs to be stored, handled, transported, processed, and tracked in very specific ways.

Read about the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Waste Management Act