New petitions seek to decriminalize marijuana, legalize recreational use in Oklahoma

Two initiative petitions filed Wednesday seek to legalize recreational marijuana and decriminalize the drug in Oklahoma.

The petitions also seek to enshrine in Oklahoma’s constitution many of the medical marijuana protections Oklahoma voters approved when they passed State Question 788 in 2018.

The petitions, filed by eight Oklahomans who work in Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry, come on the heels of two other petitions seeking to overhaul the state’s marijuana laws.

Proposed State Question 812 would make legal the use of recreational marijuana for people ages 18 and older. The measure also seeks to decriminalize marijuana and, if passed, would require the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to release all offenders serving time on a host of cannabis-related offenses.

Proposed State Question 811 sets up a framework to regulate and tax the state’s recreational marijuana program. It also seeks to constitutionally protect the intent of what Oklahomans voted on when they approved SQ 788, said proponent Danna Malone.

“This Article will heal State Question 788, which the Oklahoma State Legislatures, [sic] the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Local Governments has desecrated since 57% of Oklahoma voters passed SQ788 on the historic day of June 26, 2018,” the petition’s description reads. [Read more at The Oklahoman]