Organizers of a campaign in Oklahoma to legalize marijuana for adult use have abandoned the effort after concluding there was no time to gather the necessary signatures.
Chief among the challenges facing petitioners was collecting the necessary 178,000 signatures before the November statewide election given the challenges imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
what would the measure have done exactly?
In addition to legalizing marijuana for adults over age 21 without a license, the ballot measure would have also established procedures for people in Oklahoma to seek the reversal of past criminal convictions related to marijuana.
Backers of full legalization in Oklahoma now say the issue couldn’t be presented to voters before 2022.
That means that - for now - a doctor’s prescription and state-issued license will continue to be required for the legal possession and consumption of marijuana.
Under current law, you can possess up to an ounce-and-a-half of cannabis without a license if you can articulate an associated medical condition to authorities. Otherwise, marijuana offenses result in a misdemeanor charge and fine of up to $400 with assurances of no prison time.
What you can still do
Even without the ballot measure’s passage, you can still do something about that old Marijuana arrest. If you meet the criteria, you should consider seeking an expungement. We’ve helped hundreds of people move on with their lives from past mistakes. An initial evaluation is always free.