{"id":35605,"date":"2023-03-02T05:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=35605"},"modified":"2023-02-28T15:16:50","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T21:16:50","slug":"will-oklahomans-vote-to-be-the-22nd-state-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2023\/03\/02\/will-oklahomans-vote-to-be-the-22nd-state-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Oklahomans vote to be the 22nd state to legalize recreational marijuana?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 20px; border-radius: 6px; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.captivate.fm\/episode\/59980917-eef8-47a3-aeb0-ea1e7834f38c\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahomans will have a decision to make next week: Should recreational marijuana be legalized?<\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ok.gov\/documents\/questions\/820.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State Question 820<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would make it legal for people to have up to one ounce of weed for adult use, grow up to six cannabis plants and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">create a pathway to expunge some prior marijuana offenses.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s unclear what voters will do. When Oklahomans narrowly voted to approve <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kosu.org\/tags\/state-question-788\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State Question 788<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which legalized medical marijuana, regulators were caught flat-footed. But there\u2019s been a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kosu.org\/show\/stateimpact-oklahoma\/2022-04-21\/striking-gold-in-the-green-rush-entrepreneurs-tap-into-oklahomas-weed-economy\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">boom in business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and with it a boom in tax revenues for the state that has paid for things like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kosu.org\/education\/2022-02-01\/oklahoma-distributes-38-5-million-for-charter-and-traditional-public-schools-from-redbud-fund\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">school facilities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Pot businesses have also become a central part of the state: There are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/journalrecord.com\/2020\/02\/05\/astonishing-state-leads-nation-in-number-of-cannabis-dispensaries\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than anywhere else in the country.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma is a conservative state, and some Republican leaders, like Gov. Kevin Stitt, have come out in opposition to the state question.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The big reason for me is, No. 1, it&#8217;s illegal federally,\u201d he said at a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3AdQYy1WEb0\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recent press conference<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cThere shouldn&#8217;t be a patchwork of states doing different things. We need to let the feds tell us if it&#8217;s legal or illegal, we shouldn&#8217;t let the states tell us that.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In November, Oklahoma\u2019s neighbors Missouri and Arkansas had similar state questions on the ballot. But the results in both of those states were different. Voters in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcur.org\/politics-elections-and-government\/2022-11-09\/missouri-amendment-3-marijuana-legalization-weed-expungement-what-happens-next\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Missouri legalized<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> recreational cannabis, while voters in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arkansasadvocate.com\/2022\/11\/09\/after-issue-4s-failure-whats-next-for-recreational-marijuana-in-arkansas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arkansas did not<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those two elections \u2013 and how they played out \u2013 could be an indicator of what\u2019s to come in Oklahoma.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35612\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35612\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-672x377.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-672x377.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-1920x1078.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-2048x1150.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/Marijuana-in-Bags-620x348.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Kateleigh Mills \/ KOSU<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bags of cannabis sit in crates at Nirvana Cannabis Dispensary&#8217;s Tulsa-based warehouse.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><b>Why did Arkansas voters reject its ballot initiative?<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite Responsible Growth Arkansas, the organization behind the ballot initiative, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arkansasadvocate.com\/2022\/11\/08\/ballot-initiative-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana-in-arkansas-fails\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">spending more than $13 million<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on its campaign, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/results.enr.clarityelections.com\/AR\/115767\/web.307039\/#\/detail\/1620\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">60% of Arkansas voters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rejected the proposal.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt was one of our most expensive direct democracy campaigns in recent history,\u201d said Janine Parry, a political science professor and the director of the Arkansas Poll at the University of Arkansas. \u201cBut there also was some opposition that spent a lot of money.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Opposition groups <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arkansasonline.com\/news\/2022\/sep\/17\/opponents-of-proposed-arkansas-amendment-that\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">spent millions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for different reasons.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Longtime cannabis supporters, who typically lean Democrat, were frustrated by a number of components on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.arkansas.gov\/uploads\/elections\/Issue_No._4_.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arkansas\u2019 ballot initiative<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Parry said. The proposal didn\u2019t include a route to expunge previous marijuana offenses and continued to outlaw growing cannabis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Longtime cannabis opponents formed a coalition with those more liberal groups. Traditional conservatives like former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the State Chamber of Commerce and the Farm Bureau <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ualrpublicradio.org\/local-regional-news\/2022-10-31\/arkansas-business-leaders-join-gov-hutchinson-in-opposing-recreational-marijuana\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">all came out in opposition<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arkansas\u2019 ballot initiative also included provisions that would\u2019ve made tax revenue go toward funding law enforcement, which failed to attract as many conservative votes as the organization hoped for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWith some groups on some issues, it doesn&#8217;t matter how you sweeten the pot, you know, they&#8217;re still a no,\u201d Parry said. \u201cAnd in this case, the sweetening of the pot actually turned off a slim portion of their natural supporters.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the failed ballot initiative, Parry said public opinion polls she\u2019s conducted show Arkansas voters are supportive of legalizing recreational marijuana, and she suspects another citizen ballot initiative will arise soon and look similar to Oklahoma\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35611\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35611\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-672x448.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-672x448.jpeg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-1920x1281.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-150x100.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-620x414.jpeg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct-1619x1080.jpeg 1619w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2023\/02\/020323_cm_CannabisProduct.jpeg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Carlos Moreno \/ KCUR<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">An employee at Fresh Green dispensary checks out a customer purchasing a variety of different recreational cannabis products on Feb. 3, 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>Why did Missouri voters pass its ballot initiative?<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same night Arkansas\u2019 ballot initiative failed, Missourians voted to become the 21st state to legalize recreational marijuana, with the initiative <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.mo.gov\/CMSImages\/ElectionResultsStatistics\/2022GeneralElection.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">receiving 53% of the vote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John Payne, director of Legal Missouri 2022, the campaign behind Missouri\u2019s legalization amendment, said it was key for the campaign to tailor a ballot initiative that was a little more attuned to Republican voters without losing Democratic voters, its main supporters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo matter what your political ideology, there are things about legalizing marijuana that can appeal to you,\u201d Payne said. \u201cFor a liberal, it may be more about criminal justice reform, and for conservatives, it might be more about limiting big government from telling people what to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to legalizing the possession of up to three ounces of weed, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.mo.gov\/CMSImages\/Elections\/Petitions\/2022-059.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Missouri\u2019s ballot<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> established a process to expunge previous marijuana offenses. It also applied a 6% tax on recreational sales and created a lottery process to select which applicants would receive dispensary and cultivation licenses while grandfathering in already established dispensaries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the legalization amendment <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/2022\/11\/09\/missouri-voters-amend-state-constitution-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">faced vocal opponents<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across the political spectrum, including Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and the Missouri NAACP. Some elected officials argued the amendment was dangerous, while left-leaning organizations said the amendment didn\u2019t go far enough on the number of licenses and criminal justice reform provisions, Payne said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFrankly, there are some of those things I&#8217;m not totally unsympathetic to, but we had to stay within the bounds of what we thought voters would support,\u201d Payne said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Within the first weekend the state began selling recreational cannabis, Payne said <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.stlpublicradio.org\/economy-business\/2023-02-09\/after-strong-first-weekend-missouris-recreational-marijuana-sellers-are-planning-ahead\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Missourians spent nearly $13 million<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on both recreational and medical products. He said it\u2019s likely sales will reach close to $100 million alone this month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>So what does this tell us about Oklahoma?<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The differences between the Arkansas and Missouri ballot measures are instructive. And experts say Oklahoma\u2019s appears to be more similar to Missouri\u2019s.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think it&#8217;s pretty likely because we have medical marijuana, and it&#8217;s the next evolution of this law,\u201d said Allyson Shortle, an associate professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma. \u201cAnd other states that are similar to Oklahoma are passing the same laws.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite Oklahoma\u2019s Republican reputation, Shortle said it&#8217;s not unusual for voters to approve liberal-leaning ballot measures. She said an example is when Oklahomans throughout the state passed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/okpolicy.org\/a-closer-look-at-sq-802-results-dispels-myth-that-oklahomans-voted-against-their-self-interest\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Medicaid expansion in 2020<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s very on-brand for Oklahoma to be very different than the rest of conservative states as they are maybe more commonly understood,\u201d Shortle said. \u201cThat\u2019s true of places like Arkansas and Missouri where these types of states with a great history of populism tend to have a different brand of conservatism that does allow for certain support of liberal policies.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As more states legalize the use of marijuana, the voting public continues to support those policies. A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2022\/11\/22\/americans-overwhelmingly-say-marijuana-should-be-legal-for-medical-or-recreational-use\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pew Research Center<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> poll shows nearly 90% of U.S. adults believe marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use, while nearly 60% believe it should be legal for both.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s because legalization went from theory to practice,\u201d said Paul Armentano, the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. \u201cIt was one thing to have debates on whether or not it was a good idea to move forward with legalization, but it\u2019s another thing to have demonstrable examples of legalization regulation right here at home.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures on the ballot such as the amount of tax revenue Oklahoma would receive from recreational marijuana sales could sway residents to vote for legalization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe business side of things is going to impact [the vote] a great deal,\u201d Shortle said. \u201cThat to me explains a large reason why people who aren&#8217;t particularly fond of drugs would support this type of law.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering Oklahoma has one of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/profiles\/OK.html#:~:text=Oklahoma%20has%20an%20incarceration%20rate,incarcerated%20in%20Oklahoma%20and%20why.\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">highest incarceration rates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the country, Shortle said the pathway to expunge prior marijuana offenses is another measure that could resonate with voters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat I see when I talk to voters, as well as other Oklahomans, is this drive to be more lenient in a criminal justice sense because many people are affected by punitive sentencing laws in Oklahoma,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if you are in support or opposition [to this ballot initiative].\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But with varying opposition and support the result will be determined by which side turns out. And voter participation, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tulsaworld.com\/news\/state-and-regional\/govt-and-politics\/76-of-voters-30-and-younger-didnt-vote-in-oklahomas-november-midterm-election\/article_896a5598-7cb2-11ed-9f35-2fdb3f2989fe.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">especially among young people<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in Oklahoma is some of the worst in the country.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSometimes in Oklahoma, these are decided by very few voters,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it is important if you care about this issue to go out and vote.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oklahomans will have a decision to make next week: Should recreational marijuana be legalized?State Question 820 would make it legal for people to have up to one ounce of weed for adult use, grow up to six cannabis plants and create a pathway to expunge some prior marijuana offenses.\u00a0It\u2019s unclear what voters will do. When [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":35610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,491,16,15],"tags":[751],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35605"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35621,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35605\/revisions\/35621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}