Oklahoma Legalization Campaign releases new video to educate voters

Oklahoma voters could make history next month if they pass a vote legalizing cannabis use by adults. In preparation for this, advocates have begun to ramp up efforts to educate residents and raise awareness with a new internet and television advertising campaign.

“Get the facts on the state’s Question 820. The law will regulate and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older,” reads the new Yes on 820 video. “It has strict safety requirements for labelling, child-resistant packaging and quantity restrictions to protect us and our children. It will also generate millions for schools and healthcare, freeing up police resources to focus on serious violent crime and making our communities safer. It works in other states. It’s time for Oklahoma.”

The state’s 820 question is the only question on the ballot, and volunteers who voted yes to 820 broke the news. “Thanks to our amazing volunteers for a huge Saturday promotion! We’re knocking on doors across our great state and reminding people to vote YES on #SQ820 on March 7th, 2023, the campaign wrote on their Twitter page on February 18th. Another post shared the persistence of the volunteers. “Our volunteers knock on doors during rain, snow and injuries.”

Campaign director Michelle Tilley wrote an opinion piece for Tulsa World, explaining her personal motivation for supporting cannabis legalization and why others should vote too. “I’m a lifelong Oklahoman and a mother of teenage children. I want my children to grow up in a prosperous state with good jobs, safe communities, and properly funded government services,” Tilley wrote. “I want to retire here, near her. For all of these reasons, I’ve spent the last 14 months leading the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma.”

Tilley went on to explain how legalizing cannabis can improve public safety and protect children across the state. “As a mother, I don’t want my kids to use marijuana. As someone who remembers being a teenager, I also don’t want my children’s lives—or any children’s lives—to be permanently changed if they make a mistake,” Tilley continued. “A criminal arrest for a small amount of marijuana can make it difficult to go to college or get a job.”

“I want Oklahoma’s children to thrive in safe, vibrant communities,” Tilley concluded. “Despite what our opposition is saying, there is no evidence that legalizing recreational marijuana will harm children anywhere.”

The legalization initiative was originally supposed to be put to the vote in November 2022. Supporters collected more than enough signatures, but the initiative was not adopted in time. The Oklahoma Supreme Court denied the petition in September 2022. In October, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that he would put state question 820 on the ballot for a March 7 special election.

If passed, the initiative would legalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and allow residents to grow up to six mature plants for personal use. Cannabis products would carry a 15% excise tax, and the law would create an Oklahoma Marijuana Revenue Trust Fund that would fund the program, public education, and more. Any residents currently serving a sentence on cannabis charges could apply for resentencing, and those who have already served their sentences could apply for erasure.

Yes on 820 recently released a report, prepared by Vicente Sederberg LLP and the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association, that predicted that if Oklahoma legalizes adult-use cannabis, it could potentially save as much as $821 million in medical tax revenue and recreational cannabis could move in.