Today, the citizens of Oklahoma defeated State Question 820, the ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana. This is the latest of a series of wins for public health, including the defeating of legalization in Arkansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota, as well as several state legislatures rejecting marijuana.
“Today’s rejection of marijuana is a huge win for public health, public safety, and common sense,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of SAM Action. “The historic results of tonight’s election show that the industry cannot buy votes and profit off our kids. Despite being vastly outspent by the industry and its allies, our coalition partners in Oklahoma worked tirelessly to educate voters about the unintended consequences of legalization, ranging from more incidents of impaired driving and workplace accidents to higher youth use rates. Following the roll-out of medical marijuana in Oklahoma––which led to the unprecedented outgrowth of the state’s illicit market––voters were about to see firsthand how the liberalization of our drug laws routinely fails to deliver as promised.”
“We cannot thank Pat McFerron and CMA Strategies enough for their top notch work when outspent enormously by the industry. Our coalition partners did an incredible job getting voters across Oklahoma engaged on this issue. I cannot thank their staff and volunteers enough for their hard work and dedication to public health and safety. I also want to acknowledge and thank the many doctors, faith leaders, law enforcement groups, parents, and social justice champions who publicly came out in opposition to legalization and helped us defeat this ill-conceived ballot measure.”
