Oklahoma could vote on cannabis legalization in November

Oklahoma could vote on cannabis legalization this November. While the’failed to legalize in 2018 then in 2020, two state issues aimed at legalizing cannabis for recreational use are now facing off.

State Question 820, a statutory amendment, has already passed the State Supreme Court, while State Question 819, a constitutional amendment, is stalled there. The two groups behind these state questions are unable to agree on how to achieve this.

«We believe that people's rights and freedoms are not rights and freedoms if they are not guaranteed by the Constitution,» said Jed Green, director of’Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action (ORCA) at the origin of State Question 819. ORCA was recently dismissed a blocking procedure against Question 820.

Jed Green estimates that if State Question 819 passed, Oklahoma would have cannabis after just two months, whereas with State Question 820, the state legislature could delay implementation for up to 4 years, a delay already tested on medical cannabis to the detriment of patients...

«We're not picking on these people, we're not picking on our friends here, we just have a difference of opinion,» Green said. «They have a different approach and we think it's the wrong approach. The market is there. It's been there. It will be there. Cannabis has been the number one cash crop for a long time and so it's inevitable.»

State Question 820 is now in the hands of the Secretary of State. The organizers of State Question 820 will have 90 days to obtain 95,000 signatures.

If they manage to pass the 10-day signature challenge period, the cannabis legalization will appear on this year's November ballot.