Could recreational marijuana be in Oklahoma’s future in 2022? Here’s a look

Oklahoma legalized the use of medical marijuana nearly three years ago and has since seen an absolute explosion of popularity in the industry. The state has more dispensaries than California, and the number of medical marijuana cardholders is approaching 400,000.

With so much support for marijuana, a question that continues to be raised is whether the state will now legalize recreational use. 

Several political steps must occur if that were to happen. As part of a series looking ahead to the coming year in business and the overall economy, The Oklahoman explored the possibility of recreational marijuana being legalized. 

A proposed state question to fully legalize marijuana sales is making progress and organizers are expecting to start collecting signatures as soon as February.

Along with the petition to create a recreational marijuana framework in state law, Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action also have a separate petition that would restructure the state’s medical marijuana agency and create tax breaks for the industry.

© DOUG HOKE/THE OKLAHOMAN Supporters of medical marijuana rally at the Capitol in support of better transparency from the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) Friday, July 30, 2021.

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Both proposals, however, are tied up at the Oklahoma Supreme Court, where a Tulsa resident has challenged the wording of those petitions. Paul Tay, a frequent but unsuccessful political candidate who is in jail awaiting trial on unrelated charges, has challenged the legitimacy of the petitions based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling and other reasons.

ORCA Director Jed Green said part of Tay’s challenge was already discussed and disposed of two years ago in relation to another recreational marijuana petition.

“The new wrinkle is Paul’s efforts to undermine the overall petition process with a claim that the McGirt ruling basically nullified Oklahoma citizens’ ability to collect signatures on tribal lands,” said Green. “The McGirt ruling was actually very narrow and applied to criminal law. And so this is a very, very, ‘go down the rabbit hole’ type of concept that he’s got there.”

Arguments in Tay’s challenge to the recreational marijuana petition were heard this month, and the second petition challenge will be heard at the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Jan. 6.

Green expects the court to decide both questions simultaneously, which could let signature collecting start sometime in February if the court sides with his group. ORCA would have 90 days to collect 178,000 signatures for each petition.

© NATE BILLINGS, NATE BILLINGS Cannabis flowers along with their packaging at CBD Plus USA, 420 N Pennsylvania, in Oklahoma City, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

The recreational marijuana petitions

The recreational petition would let anyone 21 years old or older grow, purchase, transport, receive, prepare and consume marijuana and marijuana products. The proposed amendment sets limits on amounts; any amount over those limits would require a business license.

Recreational cannabis would be taxed at no more than 15%, compared to the current 7% excise tax on medical marijuana sales. If the recreational petition passes, the tax on medical marijuana would be phased out over the course of a year.

Anyone serving time for a marijuana-related conviction could ask the court for resentencing or dismissal, according to the proposed ballot initiative.

The second petition, if approved by voters, would replace the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority with a standalone agency, the Oklahoma State Cannabis Commission. OMMA currently operates under the state’s Department of Health.

If the reorganizational petition becomes law, marijuana businesses could claim a state income tax deduction that is equal to any expenditure otherwise allowable as a federal income tax deduction. 

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© SARAH PHIPPS Marijuana is shown at a growing facility in Hollis.

Signature collecting

The timeline of ORCA’s campaign depends on how quickly the Oklahoma Supreme Court acts on Tay’s challenges. Green sees two chances for getting on a ballot in 2022, either the August primary runoff election or the general election, where most statewide candidates will be on the ballot, including the governor.

Before that, however, they have to collect enough signatures. ORCA is confident that they can meet their goal. Green said he plans to work with medical marijuana dispensaries across the state to help get the petition in front of Oklahoma’s more than 380,000 patient cardholders.

“We are actually putting together a program with the more responsible dispensaries to be able to gather signatures there,” he said. “And then we will also have volunteers that will go out into the field at high traffic locations and work to just gather signatures in more of a traditional sense.”

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© BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN Chairman Kenny Novotny holds a bag of marijuana inside 1440 Processing in Choctaw, Okla., Tuesday, July 27, 2021.

Challenges standing in the way

While Oklahoma is technically a “medical” marijuana state, some believe that the regulatory scheme created a market that essentially allows for recreational use.

The medical marijuana industry here has boomed, and there are relatively low barriers of entry and loose restrictions on who can obtain a medical marijuana card compared with states that have legalized it.

Patients have to get a doctor’s recommendation before applying for a license, but there are no restrictions on which medical conditions qualify. Many dispensaries are eager to connect potential customers with doctors who are willing to make those recommendations.

And be cause it’s relatively easy to obtain a doctor’s recommendation, there may be less enthusiasm among voters to relax the state’s cannabis laws compared to the first vote three years ago on State Question 788.

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Another challenge ORCA might face is Oklahoma’s historically conservative political voting bloc coming to the polls during a highly visible gubernatorial election season.

Even then, Green said the movement has garnered support from both sides of the political spectrum.

“This is an issue that both the far right and the far left are into,” he said. “They might describe it in different terms; for the right side of the aisle, it’s a freedom issue. And for the left side of the aisle, it’s a justice issue, a human rights issue.

“So one side may say freedom, the other side may say human rights, but they’re roughly describing the same thing when it comes to cannabis.”

Staff writer Dale Denwalt covers Oklahoma’s economy and business news for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Dale? He can be reached at ddenwalt@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @denwalt. Support Dale’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com. 

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Could recreational marijuana be in Oklahoma’s future in 2022? Here’s a look