Oklahoma State Question 820 was a voter initiative to legalize adult purchasing, possession and consumption of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It would have placed Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority in charge of business regulation. It appeared on the March 7, 2023 in a special election to consider this single State Question. Question 820 was rejected by over 60% of voters.

History

Background

In Oklahoma, ballot initiatives are drafted by their proponents and then submitted to the

Oklahoma Secretary of State The Secretary of State of the State of Oklahoma is the chief clerical officer of Oklahoma and a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary of State is the only appointed constitutional member of the separation of powers, executive b ...

who then must notify the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, the Oklahoma Election Board, and publish a notice so that any citizen of the state may file a protest as to the constitutionality of the ballot initiative. Citizens have 10 days to file a protest with the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

. After all legal challenges are heard, the petition process begins. The number of signatures required for the petition to be successful depends on the type of ballot initiative, but all measures are based on the total number of votes cast in the last general election for Governor. Referendums and Initiatives require the least number of signatures at 5% and 8% respectively. Initiatives for Constitutional Changes require 15%. Rejected Initiative or Referendum Measures require 25%. Once collected, the signed petitions are submitted to the Secretary of State for counting. Once counted, the proposed ballot title is sent to the

Attorney General of Oklahoma The attorney general of Oklahoma is the State Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. The attorney general serves as the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the Oklahoma, State of Oklahoma and head of the Office of the Oklahoma Attorn ...

for legal review. After this review, the Secretary of State submits the signed petition to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. After a short period where objections can be filed, the Secretary of State sends the petition to the Governor and the State Election Board. The

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

chooses the date of the vote on the ballot initiative.

Initiative

The initiative was filed with Oklahoma Secretary of State on January 3, 2022, by Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws. On July 5, over 164,000 signatures were submitted to secretary of state for November 2022 ballot access. On August 22, 2022, the initiative was confirmed to have over 117,000 validated signatures of the 95,000 needed to qualify for the ballot. A petition was filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court in August, after certification, to ensure the measure appears on the November 2022 ballot despite various administrative deadlines that may have expired while the initiative petition signatures were being counted. Petitioners held that the administrative requirement was

arbitrary Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". It is also used to refer to a choice made without any specific criterion or restraint. Arbitrary decisions are not necess ...

, and not based on any statute or formally adopted administrative rule. On August 30, the court ordered that it would adjudicate whether or not the 2022 ballot would include SQ 820, despite the Oklahoma Election Board's position that August 29 was that statutory deadline. On September 21, with two challenges concerning the ballot title still before the supreme court, it issued its decision not to compel the elections board to include the question on the November 2022 ballot. On October 18, 2022, the governor slated a special election to occur on March 7, 2023, which would include the initiative.

Proposal

Oklahoma State Question 820 would change Oklahoma statutes to legalize recreational cannabis in the state for anyone over 21 years of age. Statute based state questions can be altered after their passing through normal legislation passed by the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

and signed by the

. The law would set the recreational cannabis tax rate at 15% and allow for some marijuana drug offenders to have their convictions reversed and records expunged.

Initiative text

Campaign

Campaigning around the state question had remained relatively low after its announcement until February 2023. On February 2, 2023, the "Yes" campaign announced it had raised $350,000; the same day, the "No" campaign announced it would be headed by former

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

Frank Keating Francis Anthony Keating II (born February 10, 1944, as David Rowland Keating) is an American attorney, politician and a former FBI special agent who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003. , Keating is one of only five gover ...

. '' Oklahoma Watch'' reported that State Question 820 would likely be decided by voter turnout. State Question 788, Oklahoma's successful medical

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

legalization state question, occurred during

midterm election Apart from general elections and by-elections, a midterm election refers to a type of election where the people can elect their representatives and other subnational officeholders (e.g. governor, members of local council) in the middle of the t ...

primaries and saw higher turnout than the

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

. However, the last state question election to be held on a non-general or primary election, held in September 2005, failed with only 18% turnout.

Endorsements

References

External links

Question 820
official text at

Oklahoma State Question 820, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2022)
at

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{{2023 United States elections

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

2023 cannabis law reform

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Cannabis ballot measures in the United States Oklahoma ballot measures Proposed laws of the United States