It’s Official: Oklahoma Voters to Have Opportunity to Legalize Medical Cannabis

It’s Official: Oklahoma Voters to Have Opportunity to Legalize Medical Cannabis

Oklahoma’s State Question 788, which would legalize medical cannabis, has officially gone through all of the hurdles necessary to be placed before voters. However, the measure won’t be placed on this November’s ballot, but instead will be voted on in 2018; this is unless a special election is decided upon for next year.

Proponents of the initiative recently submitted roughly 67,000 signatures, considerably more than the number required to put it before a vote of the people, and it has now also gone through the mandated 10-day period where the public can protest the initiative’s language.

Chip Paul, a spokesperson for Oklahomans for Health, the group behind Question 788, says the group plans to lobby lawmakers to put the measure to a special election vote next year, rather than waiting until 2018, as any delay could deprive treatment for numerous patients who could benefit from using the medicine.

If the initiative is passed into law, it will be legal for those with a recommendation from a physician to possess and use up to three ounces of cannabis for medical use.

“The more than 67,000 Oklahomans who signed the petition for medical marijuana will have their voices heard,” said Ryan Kiesel, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. “The historic success of this grassroots effort led by Oklahomans for Health is a testament to the overwhelming support for medical marijuana.”