Cannabis

[bchris02]

Rec will probably never be on a November ballot again and always stand alone. We still have a good med. marijuana program, if we can keep it. I won't be surprised if a petition comes out for a vote to abolish it with a constitutional amendment. Hopefully, the sponsors won't be able to find funding to hire enough paid signature takers. Hopefully, my concerns are unwarranted.

Yeah I'm starting to wonder if Oklahoma will be the first state to having a thriving legal marijuana market and then lose it due to a revert to "Reefer Madness" thinking. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but just today Stitt alluded that there will be changes coming. If the state of Oklahoma is able to pull the rug out from under the existing market, my hope for the future of legalization on a nationwide scale will become quite a bit dimmer. Other red states and possibly the Federal Government, next time a Republican is in charge, could interpret that as permission for a crackdown.

One of the issues is that over the course of the past year, Fox News has been steadily pushing an anti-legalization narrative, solidifying and strengthening opposition to legal weed among conservatives, especially those who watch Fox News.

[Oklapatriot]

Yeah I'm starting to wonder if Oklahoma will be the first state to having a thriving legal marijuana market and then lose it due to a revert to "Reefer Madness" thinking. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but just today Stitt alluded that there will be changes coming. If the state of Oklahoma is able to pull the rug out from under the existing market, my hope for the future of legalization on a nationwide scale will become quite a bit dimmer. Other red states and possibly the Federal Government, next time a Republican is in charge, could interpret that as permission for a crackdown.

One of the issues is that over the course of the past year, Fox News has been steadily pushing an anti-legalization narrative, solidifying and strengthening opposition to legal weed among conservatives, especially those who watch Fox News.

"Reefer Madness".....what does that mean? I guess most folks think legalized marijuana is OK? Try this...

https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/what-we-know.html

Sounds kind of dangerous to me, but before you say it...yes, alcohol is dangerous also.

I have no problem with medical marijuana for those that need it.

[bchris02]

"Reefer Madness".....what does that mean? I guess most folks think legalized marijuana is OK? Try this...

https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/what-we-know.html

Sounds kind of dangerous to me, but before you say it...yes, alcohol is dangerous also.

I have no problem with medical marijuana for those that need it.

'Reefer Madness' was the public campaign starting in the 1930s to stigmatize and criminalize marijuana. There was a propaganda film in 1936. The campaign worked and is the reason why smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol aren't cultural equivalents and one is considered so much more taboo than the other, even though when you get down to the nitty gritty, there really isn't any reason for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhQlcMHhF3w

Reefer Madness was reenforced in our culture by Nixon in the late 1960s, in response to the hippie movement, and then by Nancy Reagan and Jerry Falwell in the 1980s.

[Oklapatriot]

'Reefer Madness' was the public campaign starting in the 1930s to stigmatize and criminalize marijuana. There was a propaganda film in 1936. The campaign worked and is the reason why smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol aren't cultural equivalents and one is considered so much more taboo than the other, even though when you get down to the nitty gritty, there really isn't any reason for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhQlcMHhF3w

Reefer Madness was reenforced in our culture by Nixon in the late 1960s, in response to the hippie movement, and then by Nancy Reagan and Jerry Falwell in the 1980s.

Thanks for that....I'm always learning. I find it curious that some folks listened to the CDC so seriously on Covid, yet ignore CDC warnings on things like Marijuana. I guess it's "Selective Reasoning", or the CDC is full of you know what.

[BoulderSooner]

Thanks for that....I'm always learning. I find it curious that some folks listened to the CDC so seriously on Covid, yet ignore CDC warnings on things like Marijuana. I guess it's "Selective Reasoning", or the CDC is full of you know what.

this is always interesting ..

[Pete]

No matter what side you're on, cannabis in Oklahoma is completely out of control.

The medical prequalification is an absolute joke (just do it online, say you have headaches), we have more dispensaries per capita than anywhere, and the entire industry is virtually lawless.

Plus, you have people driving all over town *while* getting high. I walk every single day and always, always smell it from passing cars.

It's not just about partaking, it's about all the craziness it has unleashed. And if you knew some of the local key players in this industry you'd understand what I'm talking about. It's a very bad element and most of them are doing everything in their power to dodge our flimsy laws, often in collaboration with out-of-state sleazeballs.

We got into this having no idea what we are doing and that needs to change.

[Cocaine]

Someone has reefer madness.

[HangryHippo]

Someone has reefer madness.

Username checks out, lol.

[Bunty]

Someone has reefer madness.

It seems so. I never smell pot when I go for a walk in Stillwater, like to Mexico Joe's. I pass near two med dispensaries on the way, and they hardly ever look busy. Med pot doesn't appear to be popular with college students, since Ardmore has more dispensaries than Stillwater. The dispensaries at least where I'm from look so unbusy, I won't be surprised some of the close before long.

[Plutonic Panda]

I really don’t see how marijuana is out of control, or any worse than any other state that has legalization.

[Bunty]

If 820 had been as noteworthy about giving localities the power to as much as totally roll back marijuana, it probably would have passed. If counties and/or towns were given the right to vote to totally throw out and ban any kind of marijuana business, the vote would have tightened considerably in rural areas. To assure a win, things could be included to please metro voters, such as give cities the power to limit the number of dispensaries. Better regulation of grows could be specified. This all is similar to how Colorado does marijuana, so most all of the eastern half of the state is free from having any kind of business having to do with marijuana. The western half of Oklahoma would likely look the same if given the chance.

Colorado Springs, Colorado's 2nd biggest city in November in a vote rejected the opportunity to allow legal sales of rec marijuana. The vote wasn't close. They are happy sticking with just having a little over 100 legal medical marijuana dispensaries. People who want rec can still go to nearby Manitou Springs. Anyway, any new future vote for rec marijuana in Oklahoma certainly shouldn't mirror SQ820. How other states run fully legal marijuana would be worthy of a look before a new petition is written.

[jerrywall]

I really don’t see how marijuana is out of control, or any worse than any other state that has legalization.

It's the industry that is out of control, IMO, meaning that the reasonable controls and regulations that should be there in any business to protect the consumers and the public at large are largely nonexistent or not enforced in Oklahoma. The pro-cannabis folks need to be the drivers in maturing the regulatory framework, and if they don't, the anti-cannabis folks will do it for them.

[Pete]

I didn't vote against rec cannabis, but if you want the general populous to approve it, running around yelling 'reefer madness' is not going to help your cause.

The bottom line is we already have rec it just is very, very thinly disguised and that was never the intent of the law that did pass.

So, be happy with what we have and know that most voters feel they were completely duped in the medical vote. I'm not arguing the validity of that stance, just telling you how most people feel about this issue -- which is obvious by the huge and unsurprising slap-down in the last vote.


And if you aren't smelling it at stoplights or when walking along a roadside, you must be hard of smelling. I smell it almost every day.

[jn1780]

And there are those who are pro cannabis, but voted against it because they like how things are now with regulations. Dispensary owners and growers already figured out how to take advantage of loop holes for maximum profit.

[wunderkind]

I'm amazed at the places and situations where I smell weed. Passing cars, outside restaurants, outside stores etc. Becoming less amazed though, as time goes on and its just pretty commonplace.

[wunderkind]

A year or so ago we had a contractor doing repairs in our building and the individual reeked of marijuana. This was concerning for safety reasons, as the person had to climb a ladder to do the work. Nothing calamitous happened, but still.

[Scott5114]

I wasn't aware that smelling things you don't like the smell of was grounds to have it banned. I should get started on drafting a state question to ban sardines and Bradford pear trees.

[wunderkind]

Oh, I rather like the smell of it. Just noting its become really pervasive. I'm not opposed to cannabis; along with a lot of others, I voted to bring in the medical mj a few years ago. It just seems the regulating agencies cannot get a handle on keeping the growing/distributing safe and legal.

[Cocaine]

The fact is the state never wanted to regulate it they wanted to kill it. Remember when medical was on the ballot and the first thing leadership did was change the language of the state question. Courts made them change it back. Even now they are looking at ways to kill not regulate it.

[Pete]

There is no way they can kill it now. We have literally thousands of dispensaries (estimated at 2,300) and hundreds of grow facilities. The genie is out of the bottle, plus millions are pouring into state coffers.

I do think legislators will continue to try and add restrictions but what's the worst that can happen? People will actually have to receive a semi-legit medical diagnosis?

Even if that does come to pass, you just find a doctor who wants to make a buck and provide easy approvals.

[Zuplar]

Yep there will always be those types of doctors.

[Midtowner]

Yep there will always be those types of doctors.

As long as it's safer to prescribe than tylenol, then yeah, there will always be those types of doctors.

[jn1780]

Its easy money. Yep, sounds like your suffering. Give me money now.

[corwin1968]

Haven't they? I mean, they are letting states legalize weed, and even mushrooms in some states. The only bad thing is that veterans or those who use the VA or other federal healthcare can't use it.

It may have been discussed in this thread, but I know there has been a concern about medical marijuana use and truthfully filling out a 4473 to purchase a firearm. The concern was that you either have to lie on the 4473 (I'm guessing that's a felony) or not pass a background check to purchase a firearm.

And what about people who own firearms and then get a medical marijuana card? Are they now illegal gun owners?

[Bullbear]

For what it's worth. we spent the weekend in Dallas and i smelled weed as often or more often than I do in OKC. the hotel lobby, outside, the hallways. The streets around town and bars. we commented on it that the way it smells around Dallas you would think they had Rec marijuana.