Will Oklahoma become the 20th state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana? A special election has been called by Governor Kevin Stitt on March 7, 2023 to answer that question.

State Question 820 will be on the ballot. In September, the Oklahoma Supreme Court denied the addition of State Question 820 to the November ballot. Marijuana would become legal 90 days after passage.

If the question had been put on the general election ballot on November 8, it is likely that voter turn-out would be increased. Typically, midterm elections are low turn-out elections. This year, though, that may not be the case. Voters are motivated to show up and vote in the midterm elections because of the sad shape of the economy, the rise in crime, the Biden border crisis, and, to a lesser degree, abortion. Some Oklahomans think that a question on legalizing recreational marijuana use would increase Democrat voter turn-out.

Democrats hoped the question would be on the November ballot to help energize liberal voters but the process of presenting the question to voters got bogged down along the way.

The court said the state question could not be printed on ballots in time to comply with the deadline for mailing them to absentee voters for the November election.

The initiative petition process got bogged down after legislators passed a law that required the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office to verify signatures in addition to count them, the court said.

“Delays in the process were caused by the Secretary of State’s ‘learning curve’ associated with the use of the new software and by the filing of four statutorily allowed protests,” the court said.

If it passes in the special election, recreational marijuana will be legalized, regulated, and taxed for adults 21 years of age and older. It provides criminal justice reform and expunges convictions for low-level marijuana offenses. Marijuana sales would be subjected to a 15% excise tax on top of standard sales tax. The tax revenue would be used to help fund local municipalities, the court system, public schools, substance abuse treatment, and the state’s general revenue fund.

Medical marijuana was legalized in Oklahoma in 2018 by voters who approved State Question 788.

Oklahoma already has one of the most robust medical marijuana programs in the country, with about 10% of the state’s residents having state-issued medical cards that allow them to purchase, grow and consume marijuana.

Governor Stitt, in a tight re-election battle, supports federal legalization of marijuana but opposes the state question. He said the patchwork of state laws on marijuana have become problematic. Voters in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota are considering measures on recreational marijuana this year.