More than four years ago Oklahoma residents voted to legalize medical cannabis. Shortly after that, the state of Oklahoma became the quickest in the nation to completely implement an effective cannabis law.
Since January 2022, many residents have been pushing to get recreational cannabis legalized. The Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws filed the initiative with the Oklahoma Secretary of State on January 3.
For an initiative to be added to a ballot, it must have over 100,000 signatures. In July, the OSML submitted over 164,000 signatures to the secretary of state, and the signatures were validated in August. This meant that the initiative qualified to be placed on the ballot and State Question 820 was created. Many residents were hopeful this would place the measure on the ballot.
The downfall was that the OSML failed to submit everything by the deadline. The group that collected the signatures filed a petition after the signatures were certified to try to ensure the initiative would be placed on the November 2022 ballot because the administrative requirement was “arbitrary, and not based on any statute or formally adopted administrative rule.”
On September 21, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that they would not compel the elections board to include the question on the November 22 ballot. Many supporters of the bill called the ruling “disheartening.”
"It is disappointing that a few people with their own political interests were able to use the process to prevent voters from voting on this in November," Yes on 820 Campaign Director Michelle Tilley said in an interview. "However, we cannot lose sight of how far we have come. This is a big deal.”
"Now the petition phase is finished, and Oklahomans will be voting to legalize recreational cannabis here and we can soon realize all the benefits it will bring to our State," she continued.
Representatives of the Yes on 820 campaign placed blame on the new process that the secretary of state’s office now uses to verify signatures. They claimed the new process slowed down their efforts to qualify for the ballot.
A representative for the secretary of state's office said in an earlier interview that the new process is in place to protect Oklahomans. It adds more scrutiny to ensure only registered voters’ signatures are counted to determine if a state question should be placed on the ballot or not.
The Supreme Court justices said that the office brought in extra workers from full-time staff to temporary workers to assist with the signature counting and verification. Even with the extra effort, they said it was too late for SQ 820 to be added to the November ballot.
Voters will still have a chance for their voices to be heard on the subject. SQ 820 will make it on the ballot during a statewide election in 2024 or if the governor calls for a special election.