At the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Leadership Conference, Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to visit with former Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, Todd Lamb, about State Question 820, the Recreational Marijuana Legalization Initiative.
Oklahoma SQ 820 is on the ballot in Oklahoma as an initiated state statute on March 7, 2023. A “no” vote opposes legalizing recreational marijuana for adult use in Oklahoma.
“Four years ago, the state of Oklahoma passed a state question that allowed medicinal use of marijuana, and that is arguably out of control in a lot of areas,” Lamb said. “Oklahoma is starting to get that under control now with some more regulation.”
SQ 820 permits smoking marijuana around children, Lamb said, by saying that it is not child endangerment. It also prohibits considering marijuana addiction in child custody and visitation cases, Lamb added.
“It also does not establish a maximum THC level, which is problematic because that increases the addiction rate in Oklahoma,” Lamb said. “You talk to a lot of healthcare professionals and mental health professionals, and they say marijuana is a gateway drug.”
There is a lot of pressure for Oklahoma to “get this right,” Lamb said because the nation is likely to follow in the same direction.
As former law enforcement, Lamb talked about how the legalization of the use of recreational marijuana can impact crime rates.
“I am a former special agent with the United States Secret Service, I have a lot of friends in law enforcement, not just federal agents, but county sheriffs, deputies, and local police officers, and I talk to them on a regular basis, and they talk about what they see on the street with marijuana,” Lamb said. “Gang-related activity, theft, robbery, burglary, property crimes, personal crimes, because it is a gateway drug that leads to other drugs, but also people will rob and steal to get money, to get the high they want to feel better for a temporary fix. So, it is problematic on so many levels.”
Lamb said SQ 820 is also an issue in regard to foreign land ownership in the state.
“When I was Lieutenant Governor, I traveled to all 77 counties every single year, and I listened to the local leaders,” Lamb said. “While I still have all those relationships, I hear time again from northeast Oklahoma all the way down to Hollis, and Beaver County all the way down to McCurtain County, I hear from friends that have farms and ranches, and there is foreign ownership right next to them, and they don’t know exactly who owns it. They just know there is foreign ownership because it is not local, and grow houses start to go up.”
Another problem with SQ 820, Lamb said, is there is no regulation on water or electricity used for these grow houses, so it puts a lot of strain on rural Oklahoma.
“This is going to happen fast,” Lamb said. “March 7 is the vote for State Question 820, and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau is taking an official position of opposition to State Question 820. So I think the men and women and individuals listening to this right now need to be engaged, talking to their family first, talking to their community, and friends, and when they go to the ballgame on Friday night, Tuesday night, church on Wednesday, talk about this. Even if who you are visiting with, you think you know where they are voting, encourage them to do the right thing on March 7.”