While Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action continues to collect signatures throughout the state, Oklahomans for Sensible Cannabis Laws submitted roughly 164,000 this week to qualify their proposal for the November ballot.
One group, Oklahomans for Sensible Cannabis Laws, presented signatures to the Secretary of State this week in an effort by two organizations to place dueling adult-use cannabis legalization initiatives on the November ballot in Oklahoma.
According to The Oklahoman, the campaign, which needed to collect 94,910 signatures to put the initiative before voters this fall, turned in about 164,000 signatures on July 5.
According to senior campaign adviser Ryan Kiesel, “We’re expecting Oklahomans to say yes to this.”
State Question 820, a statute, would make adult-use cannabis legal in Oklahoma for anyone who are 21 and older. According to The Oklahoman, it would impose a 15% excise tax on adult-use sales, with the money collected going to Oklahoma’s General Revenue Fund, local governments that house adult-use dispensaries, school districts, the legal system, and drug treatment programs.
According to the news source, SQ 820 also has measures to make it easier for Oklahomans with prior cannabis-related offenses to have their records cleared.
According to The Oklahoman, the legislation would eventually enable the state’s adult-use and medicinal cannabis programs to coexist and be governed by the Oklahoma Medical Cannabis Authority (OMMA).
Up until August 1st, Oklahomans for Sensible Cannabis Laws had 90 days to gather signatures in support of SQ 820. Now that the campaign has submitted signatures, the Secretary of State’s office must count and verify them, which could take several weeks, according to The Oklahoman.
Adult-use sales might begin in the late spring or early summer of 2023 if SQ 820 is placed on the ballot and subsequently approved by voters in the November election. The law would go into effect 90 days after that, according to the news source.
The Oklahoman stated that a second group, Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, is also gathering signatures for two different constitutional amendments, State Questions 819 and 818, each of which needs 177,957 signatures to be placed on the ballot.
SQ 818 would codify Oklahoma’s medical cannabis program in the state constitution, while SQ 819 would legalize adult-use cannabis for Oklahomans 21 and older.
According to a Tulsa World story, Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action has until August 24 to gather the necessary number of signatures to put its measures before voters. The campaign is presently looking for new volunteers to help with its petition drive.
Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action petitioners have been going throughout the Tulsa region to the medical cannabis clinics that are holding the petitions, according to Jed Green, a spokeswoman for the organization, who told the news source.
Because it’s hot outside, “we wanted to take use of our retail locations across the state—… beautiful, inside venues where people could go and sign,” Green said to Tulsa World. And from there, people are beginning to arrive, pick up packets, and then actually make their way outside to participate in events.
