The measure preserves the state’s existing regulatory framework for medical marijuana. Those who maintain their status as licensed patients will no longer be subject to a 7% tax on medical cannabis purchases. Adults aged 21 and up without a patient license would pay a 10% excise tax on recreational cannabis products purchased at licensed dispensaries.

If approved by voters, State Question 837 permits existing medical marijuana dispensaries to begin sales of recreational cannabis 60 days after passage. Home delivery of cannabis products could begin after six months.

Protections For Cannabis Consumers

State Question 837 also includes provisions that prohibit the presumption of intoxication based on the use of marijuana or the presence of THC metabolites in a person’s system.

“Proof of impairment requires confirmation of impairment through the use of cognitive, kinetic and/or behavioral evaluations,” the text of the proposal states.

State Question 837 also includes provisions to protect adults from penalties based solely on their use of cannabis, including sanctions on “healthcare, housing, employment, public assistance, public benefit, parental right, educational opportunity, [and] extracurricular activity,” online cannabis news source Marijuana Moment reported on Wednesday. The initiative contains similar protections for “licensure or licensed activity,” such as firearm ownership and driving rights due to any legal cannabis activity.

Oklahoma Voters Rejected Weed Legalization In 2023

The filing of the proposed ballot measure comes only two years after Oklahoma voters rejected a similar proposal, State Question 820. The 2023 initiative was soundly defeated, with nearly 62% of voters rejecting the bid to legalize recreational marijuana.

Green of ORCA said that this year’s effort is different than State Question 820, which the group opposed. He added that 2023 bid was funded by out-of-state interests that failed to collaborate with activists responsible for legalizing medical marijuana in Oklahoma. He also faulted the measure’s regulatory scheme, which would be overseen by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA).

“One of the fundamental differences between that and what is now State Question 837, is that SQ 820 would have created a duplicate licensing system that has demonstrably failed in multiple other states,” Green told The Oklahoman. “OMMA was already behind on licensure renewals, and there was no way OMMA could handle it, or that business should be required to have two separate licenses, two sets of regulations and potentially two sets of storefronts to sell the same product.”

Pending Bill Could Impede Legalization Efforts

Green said that efforts to approve State Question 837 are threatened by pending legislation that would add new restrictions on gathering signatures for ballot initiatives. Under Senate Bill 1027, which the Oklahoma Senate approved last month, 90% of signatures would have to come from outside Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties, the state’s two most populous.

Additionally, the number of signatures that could be collected in smaller counties would be capped at 4% of the county’s total registered voters. Green said that ORCA opposes the legislation, which will next be considered by the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

“It takes voting rights from all Oklahomans. The power to sign an initiative petition is reserved to registered voters only. Therefore, signing a petition is a right of only a registered voter; it is a voting right,” Green said. “When you restrict anyone for any reason from being able to exercise their right to vote, you are on very shaky legal ground.”