Oklahoma voters could be casting ballots on a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana for people over 21.
Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action is behind the proposal, filed as State Question 837. Jed Green, director of the organization, was the director of the medical marijuana campaign in 2018 that made medical marijuana legal in the state.
"So we actually have been... this is something that we've been working on for a while," Green said.
The proposal allows people over 21 to have 12 marijuana plants, 72 ounces of topical and edible marijuana, and eight ounces of commercially sold marijuana. It also gets rid of the excise tax for medical marijuana and replaces it with a 10% excise tax on recreational sales.
Two years ago, the state's voters rejected State Question 820 to make an adult use law. Green said his organization opposed the past effort. This one creates a new licensure system. It also proposes a constitutional amendment rather than a statutory measure.
"We have a new proposal that focuses on individual rights and freedoms, protecting our medical program as well, and then addresses business licensure and regulation enough to implement the program," Green said. "But, this being a constitutional amendment, we defer to lawmakers and regulators to really handle any further changes in the future to the program in statute."
Supporters must gather nearly 173,000 signatures for the proposal to appear on the ballot.
This effort starts as Senate Bill 1027 is circulating in the state legislature. The measure places new regulations on initiative petitions in the state, including limiting the number of signatures required for a petition from counties with more than 400,000 people.
Green said his organization is against the bill, but it will not impact the effort.
Copyright 2025 KOSU
