WORLD NEWS | Oklahomans to vote on one issue: legal marijuana

Oklahoma City (United States), March 7 (AP) — Oklahoma voters will decide Tuesday whether to make the state one of the most conservative states to green-light adult-use marijuana.

State Question 820, the result of last year’s signature gathering campaign, was the only item on the statewide ballot. Other conservative states have legalized recreational marijuana use, including Montana in 2020 and Missouri last year, but several have declined, including Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.

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The plan has faced opposition from leaders of multiple faith groups, as well as law enforcement and prosecutors, led by former Republican Gov. Frank Keating, former FBI agent Frank Keating and former head of the state’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Terri White.

“We don’t want a stoned society,” Keating said Monday, alongside district attorneys and law enforcement officers from across the state.

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If passed, the proposal would allow anyone over the age of 21 to buy and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, as well as concentrates and marijuana-infused products.

People can also legally grow up to 12 marijuana plants. Entertainment sales will be subject to a 15% excise tax on top of the standard sales tax. The excise tax will be used to fund local municipalities, the court system, public schools, substance abuse treatment and the state general revenue fund.

The proposal also outlines a judicial process for people seeking to have prior cannabis-related convictions expunged or dismissed.

Voters in Oklahoma already approved 14 percent of medical marijuana in 2018, and the state has one of the most liberal programs in the country, with about 10 percent of the state’s adult population holding medical licenses.

Low barriers to entry into the industry have resulted in a large number of growers, processors and dispensary operators competing for a limited number of customers.

Proponents also say the state’s marijuana industry will be boosted by an influx of out-of-state customers, especially from Texas, which is home to nearly 8 million people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and just six miles from Oklahoma. Just over an hour’s drive to Borders.

“We do have one of the most permissible (medical) programs in the country, but you have to spend time and money to see a doctor and basically the idea of ​​buying immunity from criminal prosecution is a pay-to-play system that I just don’t like. (US Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)