Bud on the ballot

How SQ 788 compares to other states’ medical marijuana laws

Next year, Oklahomans will vote on State Question 788, a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana. As of 2017, 29 states have approved measures legalizing the drug for medical purposes. We often think of legalization in binary terms—either medical marijuana is legal, or it isn’t—but in practice, the systems put in place by those 29 states to regulate the drug vary greatly. Each state has many choices to make about how patients can be prescribed marijuana, how much they can have, and where they can get it.

The language of SQ 788 is specific on many of these details. It would put in place laws that decide how a person applies for and receives a license to use medical marijuana; the quantities that a license holder can possess; the qualifications and licensing process for retailers, growers, processors, and transporters; and the tax rate and distribution of revenue from sales. When compared to other systems, SQ 788 would put in place a system that is on the permissive side, but well within the current spectrum of laws.

Ryan Gentzler is a policy analyst with Oklahoma Policy Institute. Find the rest of this article and more at okpolicy.org.