Oklahoma set to vote on recreational legalization in March special election
A special election will be held for SQ 820 on March 7, 2023. The measure would legalize cannabis for adults and restore the rights of tens of thousands of Oklahomans.
It’s been a long, strange trip for SQ 820, an initiative petition that would legalize cannabis for adults over 21. Signature count delays and various legal challenges kept SQ 820 off the November ballot, but now Oklahoma voters have their date with destiny.
Earlier this week Governor Kevin Stitt issued an Executive Proclamation calling for a special election on March 7th, 2023 that will allow Oklahomans to decide whether or not to legalize recreational cannabis.
SQ 820 received overwhelming support during the signature gathering process highlighting an eagerness to usher in a new era for cannabis law in Oklahoma. Campaign organizers turned in 164,000 signatures, nearly 70,000 more than were required one month ahead of their deadline.
If passed, adults over 21 could legally purchase and posses one ounce of cannabis flower, eight grams of concentrate and/or eight grams of concentrate contained within infused products. Adults could grow six mature and six seedling plants at their home, with total household count limited to twelve mature and seedling plants respectively.
SQ 820’s retroactive application provisions would allow anyone convicted of a cannabis-related crime who would have not been guilty, or would have been guilty of a lesser offense had the law been in place at the time the offense occurred to file a petition with the court to have their conviction resentenced, dismissed, expunged or vacated as legally invalid. Under the law, the court shall presume petitioners satisfy the Act’s criteria and modify the sentence without delay unless the State opposes. Hearings would not be necessary unless requested by the petitioner and outstanding fines, court costs and fees imposed in connection with the conviction would also be waived.
Oklahoma has historically over-criminalized cannabis. Even given Oklahoma’s recent embrace of medical cannabis, National Incident-Based Reporting System data shows there have been nearly 24,000 cannabis related arrests in the state in the past four years. SQ 820 would restore the rights and civic status of tens of thousands of Oklahomans—some of whom have been charged with felonies for conduct that would have never been illegal under 820.
Businesses that want to cash in on recreational cannabis will have to apply for an adult use license. Commercial licensees will be able to hold both medical and recreational licenses and operate at the same location. The measure sets the licensing fee to be no more than $2,500. Adult use licensing would not be affected by the current medical licensing moratorium, however for the first two years after the Marijuana Authority begins to accept adult use license applications, licenses will only be issued to entities that have held a medical marijuana business license for at least one year prior to the Act taking effect.
An excise tax of 15% would be imposed on all adult use cannabis sales—the 15% tax would not extend to medical cannabis sales. SQ 820 does not alter the medical marijuana program in any way. The measure would also create the Marijuana Revenue Revolving Trust Fund consisting of all collected tax proceeds from recreational sales. Monies collected would go first to support the Marijuana Authority in their efforts to implement and enforce the Act. Excess funds would then be distributed as follows: Ten percent (10%) to counties or municipalities where the sales took place, ten percent (10%) to the State Judicial Revolving Fund, thirty percent (30%) to the General Revenue Fund, thirty percent (30%) to grants to public schools to develop supportive programming, and twenty percent (20%) to provide grants to agencies and non-profits working in evidence-based low-barrier addiction treatment and overdose prevention.
SQ 820 would go into effect 90 days after being approved by the people. Michelle Tilley, Campaign Director for Yes on 820 says they “are grateful to the hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans who have worked on and supported this state question. Now, we need everyone to pull together to get this past the finish line."
