Is Recreational Marijuana in Oklahoma’s Future?
Will recreational marijuana appear on the November 2022 election ballot in Oklahoma? If major marijuana advocacy organizations in Oklahoma have a say, then yes, State Question 820 (SQ820) will be put to a vote. But there are still several hoops for pro-cannabis groups to jump through. Signatures must be gathered, state supreme court justices must approve once a 10-day challenge period is over, and the initiative must be added to the ballot.
Legalizing Marijuana in Oklahoma
Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws (OSML) is the group behind getting petition signatures for ballot approval and submitting the state question for processing. Over 100,000 signatures were received by the organizers behind the push to get SQ820 on the ballot, which were then submitted to a third-party processor in July. The standard way of getting state questions approved for addition on the ballot is to submit them to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which then posts the questions for a 10-day challenge period where citizens can challenge them in court if there are any formal objections to the SQ.
Officials have arguably been slow walking the proposal through the process by arguing that there are multiple deadlines pro-recreational-marijuana advocates must meet throughout the process. They also argued that the organization was going to miss a ballot printing cutoff date, but OSML’s response was that those dates are arbitrary and not supported by current state law. The ballot initiative is currently in the process of waiting on challenges to it through the court system as it sits in a 10-day challenge period. Once it passes the 10-day period, it must be certified and added to the ballot.
Are There Implicit Tradeoffs with Recreational Marijuana in Oklahoma?
Despite marijuana legalization being a popular topic, there are risks that those interested in pushing for legalization should recognize. Studies have shown that up to 10% of marijuana users will become addicted to the drug. Dr. Jason Kirby, chief medical officer at Landmark Recovery, recently wrote about the legalization of marijuana, explaining that there is a lot about the substance we just don’t know. Marijuana also may cause latent psychosis to appear in many users at a higher rate than other comparable recreational substances. There’s also the question of whether ignited cannabis is cancer-causing or not, which requires further study to determine definitively.
Learn More From Landmark Recovery of Oklahoma City
To learn more about how Landmark Recovery of Oklahoma City treats marijuana addictions, give our dedicated admissions team a call at 888-448-0302 today. We use evidence-based addiction treatment methods to effectively treat all our patients. Our mission is to save as many lives as possible in the next century.
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