Opponents of leisure marijuana are adopting basic arguments used within the ongoing within the War on Drugs as they marketing campaign against State Question 820, which might be on the statewide poll Tuesday, March 7.
Those combating against the state query embody spiritual leaders and legislation enforcement officers who warn that, amongst different negatives, permitting Oklahoma to turn out to be the twenty second state to approve leisure hashish gross sales may result in greater charges of drug use amongst kids, extra violent organized crime and elevated psychological well being and substance abuse points.
Supporters of SQ 820 argue that these claims are simply hyperbolic scare techniques.
At a news convention final week, the Rev. Darryl Wootten, superintendent for Oklahoma Assemblies of God, mentioned that almost 80% of purchasers at restoration facilities run by his group of church buildings have reported that marijuana was the primary drug they tried.
“Marijuana use frequently leads to other drugs such as meth, heroin, Oxycontin, fentanyl,” Wootten mentioned. “Do we really want more gateways to harm Oklahomans with the propensity towards addiction?”
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Other religion leaders on the news convention warned of its results on kids and households.
“Legalizing recreational marijuana teaches our children that altering reality with a drug is better than responsibility and hard work,” mentioned the Rev. Stephen Hamilton, of the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
In 2018, Oklahoma voters accredited State Question 788, which permits residents with a health care provider’s suggestion to purchase and possess hashish with out operating afoul of the legislation. State Question 820 basically would open the business to the free market by permitting anybody 21 and older to purchase hashish, even when they are not an Oklahoma resident.
An evaluation of federal drug-use survey knowledge exhibits that about 12% of Oklahomans mentioned they’d not too long ago used marijuana, considerately greater than the quantity who’ve a medical marijuana license. That means an estimated 100,000 people who find themselves now buying and consuming marijuana illegally would have the ability to buy it from dispensaries with no physician’s suggestion if the state query is accredited.
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Quite a few legislation enforcement officers have publicly joined the marketing campaign against the state query, together with Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley and Greg Mashburn, district lawyer for Cleveland, Garvin and McClain counties.
Another opponent of the state query, Logan County Sheriff Damon Devereaux, mentioned leisure marijuana “throws a match into the middle of what is already a powder keg in rural Oklahoma.”
“Illegal grows, black market operations, organized crime, even execution style killings were all spawned by the poorly drafted initiative petition known as 788, and 820 builds on that flawed process,” Devereaux mentioned.
Even the Oklahoma Republican Party, which usually avoids taking a stance on state questions, has voiced opposition. The get together’s central committee mentioned it has issues about landlord rights to limit hashish use on their property and a provision of the state query that prohibits courts from contemplating hashish use alone when listening to baby custody instances.
The pro-820 marketing campaign has fought again against the rhetoric utilized by opponents, which marketing campaign supervisor Michelle Tilley referred to as “hyperbolic.”
“SQ 820 opponents, including some in law enforcement, cite the danger of illegal grows and the criminal activity that comes with them,” Tilley said. “Again, they fail to mention that SQ 820 makes it easier to identify those illegal operations and gives law enforcement more funding and tools to run them out of the state. SQ 820 helps law-abiding, licensed businesspeople who play by the rules.”
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If the state question is approved by voters, marijuana sold to recreational customers also would fall under regulation by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, the state agency that conducts inspections of licensed businesses and tracks retail products from seed to sale.
“On March 7, Oklahomans will have an opportunity to reject these scare tactics that are straight out of the “Reefer Madness” period of anti-marijuana propaganda,” Tilley said.
The Yes on 820 campaign argues that approval would lead to an additional $100 million a year in revenue earmarked for education, law enforcement and other priorities. Any tax revenue not used by the medical marijuana authority to regulate the industry would be sent back to the community in the following amounts:
- 10% is sent back to the local government where the sales occurred.
- 10% goes to the Judicial Revolving Fund.
- 30% goes to the General Revenue Fund.
- 30% will be used for public school grants to fund substance abuse and student retention programs.
- 20% is earmarked for grants to state companies or nonprofit organizations for overdose prevention and to assist job placement, housing and counseling.
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