The campaign seeking to legalize adult-use cannabis in Oklahoma is set to begin collecting petition signatures for its proposal next month, KOSU reports. Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action (ORCA) filed its constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis for adults 21-and-older in April, and the group must collect at least 172,993 valid signatures from registered Oklahoma voters to get the question on the ballot.
ORCA Director Jed Green told KOSU that the group is encouraged by the number of medical cannabis patient ID holders in the state, which totals about 330,000, for the signature gathering portion of the effort.
“We’ve been working to communicate with our industry and community across the state the last couple of months and expect to have a presence in at least a simple majority of Oklahoma counties when we begin on August 6.” — Green to KOSU
If approved by voters, the amendment would remove the state’s current excise tax on medical cannabis products in addition to the adult-use reforms. Adult-use cannabis sales would be taxed at 10% under the proposal.
During a 2023 special election, Oklahoma voters rejected a ballot question to legalize adult-use cannabis by a 63% to 38% margin. The new proposal includes safeguards for the state’s medical cannabis program, rules prohibiting the use of THC metabolite tests to determine legal violations, and protections for employees, parents, and owners of firearms.
The proposal would allow home cultivation of cannabis and allow current medical cannabis operators to immediately enter the adult-use market.
