9, March, 2023
Citizens of Oklahoma on Tuesday night overwhelmingly voted down a measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana, which the Catholic bishops of the state had urged voters to reject because of the physical and spiritual harms of drug use.
State Question 820, which would have legalized the consumption of marijuana for adults 21 and over, was put before Oklahoma voters in a special election March 7. The final tally was 62% no to 38.3% yes, with a turnout of about 25% of registered voters, the Associated Press reported.
The vote continues a recent trend of conservative-led states rejecting marijuana ballot measures, despite analyst predictions that marijuana legalization has, for the past decade or so, largely been a winning issue no matter what state it is introduced in. At the midterm elections in November 2022, voters in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota rejected measures put before them to legalize recreational pot while Missouri and Maryland approved theirs. Catholic bishops in all of those states had urged voters to reject marijuana legalization.
Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level but has been legalized for recreational use in 21 states and the District of Columbia.
Supporters of State Question 820 had argued that the state would benefit financially from a likely influx of Texans from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex who would travel to Oklahoma to avail themselves of legal marijuana. Oklahoma already has, since 2018, one of the most liberal medical marijuana programs in the country, with roughly 10% of the state’s adult population having a medical license, the AP reported.
The Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, representing Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop David Konderla of Tulsa, strongly urged voters to reject the measure, citing the well-documented harms to society, children, and the family associated with the proliferation of marijuana.
“As a result of our current lax marijuana laws, Oklahoma is now the largest exporter of illegal marijuana in the country,” the conference wrote in a March 1 post on social media.
“We can’t let our children grow up in a state where marijuana is commonplace. Use of the drug is harmful to developing adolescent brains and is associated with an increased risk for depression, suicide, and psychosis. Chronic marijuana use is associated with cognitive impairment, degenerated academic performance, and short- and long-term memory deficits.”
The marijuana measure in Oklahoma proved contentious. Law enforcement groups as well as numerous state lawmakers, including Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, announced their opposition to the measure, citing in part a rise in crime associated with the illegal growing and shipping of marijuana out of Oklahoma. In addition, instances of accidental marijuana poisoning of children in Oklahoma have risen sharply since the state legalized it for medical use