Oklahoma could vote to legalize cannabis next November. While the state had failed to legalize in 2018 and then in 2020, two state issues seeking to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes now clash.
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 issues cannot agree on how to achieve this.
“We believe that the rights and freedoms of people are not rights unless they are guaranteed by the Constitution,” said Jed Green, director ofOklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action (ORCA) at the origin of Question of State 819. The ORCA recently lost a blocking procedure against Question 820.
Jed Green believes that if State Question 819 passes, Oklahoma would dispose of cannabis after just two months, whereas with State Question 820, the state legislature could delay implementation until at 4 years, a delay already experienced 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 that’s the wrong approach. The market is there. He has been there. He will be here. Cannabis has been the first commercial crop for a long time and so it is inevitable. »
Question of State 820 is now in the hands of the Secretary of State. State Question 820 organizers will have 90 days to obtain 95,000 signatures.
If they manage to get past the 10-day period for contesting signatures, cannabis legalization will be on the November ballot of this year.
