Second petition to legalize cannabis in Oklahoma

The new year saw a second bid to legalize cannabis in Oklahoma.

According to The Oklahoman newspaper, a petition for a legalization initiative for this year’s Oklahoma state vote was filed with the local State Department on Tuesday.

The latest campaign is being spearheaded by an Oklahoma woman named Michelle Tilley who led a failed attempt to get a legalization initiative for the state’s ballot in 2020.

“This is an effort that began a few years ago but has grown,” Tilley told the newspaper in an interview. “We have a broad coalition of Oklahomas – small business owners, smallholders, users and people who are reforming the criminal justice system.”

The paper reported that the proposal “outlines a framework for adult cannabis use, introduces a 15 percent excise tax on recreational cannabis sales, and includes an element of criminal justice that would make the new law retroactive which would allow some drug offenders to have their convictions overturned and records to be deleted. “

The result is that Oklahoma voters could see two measures to legalize cannabis on the ballot in November.

This is because a separate application to legalize cannabis was filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State in October.

The first proposal, submitted by a group called Oklahomas for Responsible Cannabis Action, is similar to that made by Tilley and his companies.

Both would legalize weed for adults 21 and older, and both would impose a 15 percent tax on cannabis sales, and both contain social justice provisions that would pardon and obliterate previous low-level cannabis convictions.

“Much of this has been advocated by many people in the community and industry over the past three years, and I don’t see it going through the legislative process anytime soon,” Jed Green, an organizer of Oklahomas for Responsible Cannabis Action, said, when his group’s petition was tabled.

“Until we pass the free time (marijuana legalization), we will not really be able to give stability to our program. Legalization prevents the distraction, ”he continued. “People have and will use marijuana. For decades. It is in the best interests of our state to be ahead of its time on this issue. We have to eliminate this problem. “

But there are some notable differences between the two campaigns, The Oklahoman explained.

Perhaps most importantly, Tilley’s proposal, which would appear on the ballot as State Question 820, “proposes legislative changes to existing state law,” and if approved, “the state governor and lawmakers could pass recreational marijuana laws the legislative process, ”said The Oklahoman.

The Oklahomas proposal for Responsible Cannabis, on the other hand, would change the state constitution and could therefore only be further changed by the voters.

The Oklahoman reported that Tilley’s campaign has won the support of “New Approach PAC, based in Washington, DC, and has spent millions to support marijuana legalization campaigns in other states.”

Green said his campaign was driven by voters in Oklahoma.

“Our efforts are our own efforts, and this petition (SQ 820) is the company’s cannabis effort,” he told The Oklahoman.

The newspaper set out the state of play for both campaigns.

“The signature requirement to qualify constitutional proposals for the nationwide vote is almost twice as high as for changes in the law,” says the report. “SQ 819 supporters must collect 177,957 signatures in 90 days, while SQ 820 supporters have the same deadline to collect 94,910 signatures to qualify for a nationwide vote.”