Legalize it! Reefer Madness! Outside of the typical cliches on marijuana use, Oklahoma voters will decide next week if the state will join 22 others in the march to legalize the adult use of cannabis under State Question 820.
Supporters want voters to approve an initiative that combines legal adult-use cannabis with criminal justice reforms to address past low-level convictions on marijuana-related offenses. Opponents said full legalization sends the wrong message to children and the state hasn’t done enough to deal with unintended consequences from the passage of medical marijuana in 2018.
The election will be on March 7, with early voting on Thursday and Friday. It’s the first time a state question has been before voters outside of a regular primary or general election since State Question 723 in September 2005.
With no other statewide race on the ballot, it’s unknown how many voters will show up to the polls to vote on SQ 820.
Oklahoma voters approved medical marijuana under State Question 788. That was in the June 2018 election that also featured contested primaries for governor in the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties. SQ 788 attracted the most votes in that primary, with almost 893,000 voters weighing in on medical marijuana. Data from the state Election Board show that almost 20,000 voters just voted on SQ 788 and no other gubernatorial race.
Medical marijuana passed with 57% of the vote in 2018 and attracted…