On March 7, an overwhelmingly 62% of Oklahomans voted no on SQ820 which would have legalized recreationalmarijuanainthe Sooner State. The majority of Oklahoma residents weren’t the only ones against the proposed legislation.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who were against the initiative, praised the result in separate statements. Both said they remain focused on enforcement against illicit grow operations across the state.
Shortly after the vote, Stitt said rejecting the SQ820 was a good thing.
'Oklahomans rejected State Question 820. I believe this is the best thing to keep our kids safe and for our state as a whole,” Stitt said in a press release. “Oklahoma is a law-and-order state. I remain committed to protecting Oklahomans and my administration will continue to hold bad actors accountable and crack down on illegal marijuana operations in our state.'
Some local area dispensaries are worried that more product restrictions will soon come while some local residents strongly defend the need for more regulations for dispensaries as far as signage and city ordinances like the number of dispensaries on a city block. According to some, the SQ820 campaign wasn’t just about opening cannabis sales but criminal justice reform.
Backers of SQ 820 said they were disappointed but hopeful the election spurred a broader conversation about the urgency of addressing past convictions of low-level marijuana crimes. Some Oklahomans believe that people going to jail over minor marijuana use is an outdated idea while others think it will create more criminals.
Low-cost commercial license fees in the medical marijuana program led to thousands of businesses entering the market since the passageofStateQuestion788 in June 2018. That market saturation led to a glut of product, lowering prices for consumers but making it an extremely competitive cannabis market for business owners.
There likely will always be illegal marijuana growing operations in Oklahoma. For example, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics busted an illegal marijuana on March 21, 2023. However, there’s an existing moratorium on new commercial licenses for growing, processing, transporting and dispensaries under the state’s medical marijuana program. That moratorium ends in August 2024.
Since 1970, marijuana has been a schedule one drug under federal law, which means it has the highest prohibitions on use, along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy. President Joe Biden and some in Congress have called for cannabis to be rescheduled under federal law, which would allow more federally supported research into the drug.
A proposal in the U.S. House would relax strict banking regulations around cannabis businesses. A version of that bill, the SAFE Banking Act, has been introduced each session since 2019.
The latest version, voted on in April 2021, passed the House but didn’t make it through the Senate. Oklahoma’s all-Republican delegation at the time was split on the bank bill and Reps. StephanieBice,TomColeand Kevin Hern voted for it. Reps. FrankLucasandMarkwayne Mullin voted against it.