Oklahoma voters on Tuesday rejected a poll measure to legalize adult-use hashish by a 63%-38% margin, the Associated Press stories. The proposal had confronted opposition from religion leaders, legislation enforcement, and prosecutors.
In a press release, Brian Vicente, founding companion at hashish legislation agency Vicente LLP and a member of the steering committee of the 820 marketing campaign, mentioned organizers “knew from the start” the initiative “can be an uphill battle” coming throughout a March particular election with no different points on the poll.
“The outcomes nonetheless show there may be vital assist for legalizing and regulating hashish for grownup use, and we count on it to proceed rising till the same measure passes within the close to future. Overcoming a century of anti-marijuana propaganda is not any easy job, and there may be nonetheless work to be accomplished.” — Vicente in a press release
Legalization supporters spent greater than $4.9 million on the marketing campaign, whereas opponents spent $219,000, the report says.
Following Tuesday’s vote, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) lauded the outcomes and known as Oklahoma “a legislation and order state.”
“I stay dedicated to defending Oklahomans,” Stitt mentioned, “and my administration will proceed to carry unhealthy actors accountable and crack down on unlawful marijuana operations in our state.”
If handed, the measure would have allowed adults over the age of 21 to buy and possess as much as an ounce of hashish, plus concentrates and infused merchandise. A 15% excise tax would have been imposed on adult-use gross sales along with the state’s normal gross sales tax. The excise tax would have been used to assist fund native municipalities, the court docket system, public faculties, substance abuse remedy, and the state’s normal income fund.
In a press release, Michelle Tilley, marketing campaign director for Sure on 820, famous that almost 400,000 Oklahomans maintain medical hashish playing cards.
“A two-tiered system, the place one group of Oklahomans is free to make use of this product and the opposite is handled like criminals doesn’t make logical sense,” she mentioned.
Oklahoma has one of many nation’s most permissive medical hashish techniques and about 10% of the state’s inhabitants have a medical hashish card.
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