As most of the ads on this site will remind you, a vast minority of Oklahomans will go to the polls tomorrow to vote on SQ 820 – the state question to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma.
SQ 788 – Oklahoma’s medical marijuana state question – passed by 14% in 2018, but this race is expected to be much closer. In fact, some Moles I'm talking to claim it will be a mild surprise if the initiative passes!
In 2018, SQ 788 had a lot of things going for it. It was on the ballot during a high turnout primary in the midst of a blue wave, had the word “medical” in its title, and was enthusiastically backed by a bunch of Oklahomans who eagerly wanted to use marijuana and not risk going to jail for it.
SQ 820 doesn’t have those things in its favor. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
First of all, the current medical marijuana system is basically recreational marijuana-light, so a bunch of stoners with med cards who are now content renewing a license every two years to buy a $40-ounce of shake and get baked each day may sit this special election out.
Additionally, in 2018, there wasn’t a dispensary located in every strip mall in the state to irritate all the conservative NIMBYS.
Also, the local media wasn’t conveniently being fed (and eagerly consuming) a heavy batch of stories by OBN that ignores the positive aspects of legalization, and instead portrays the Oklahoma marijuana industry in the worst possible light.
For what it’s worth, I’m not saying the Oklahoma marijuana industry is perfect. It’s far from it. Just like any other recently legalized product that has been prohibited for over a century thanks to the American triumvirate of puritanism, racism, and authoritarianism, it’s going to take a while to root out and clean up the billion-dollar-plus black market where it once thrived, especially when it’s still illegal in other states.
That being said, where are all the positive media stories about the Oklahoma marijuana industry?
You know, articles about the thousands of jobs it's created and how it’s benefited the retail real estate market? Where are the stories about the patients it's helped and the lives it’s prevented from being ruined by the cops? Not to go full Bill Hicks on you, but you don’t see The Oklahoman publishing articles with headlines like “30,000 Oklahomans enjoyed a full night's sleep last night after taking edibles they legally bought at a dispensary.”
Anyway, if you’re for some reason on the fence regarding SQ 820, I came up with a list of seven reasons why you should ignore the negative propaganda campaign being orchestrated by OBN, the Oklahoma Ruling Establishment, racist farmers, and this lady, and vote “Yes” for the measure.
Seven Reasons to Vote “Yes” for SQ 820
1. It won’t get rid of medical marijuana…
There are some very serious and legitimate reasons for medicinal marijuana use, and SQ 820 won’t affect that at all. If you take it for PTSD, pain, anxiety, colorphobia, etc., you can still get a medical card every two years and buy your stuff at a lower tax rate. SQ 820 will simply open up the market to people like me who occasionally want to get high and don’t want to go through the charade of getting a medical marijuana license every two years.
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2. It will right some criminal justice wrongs…
SQ 820 will let people who were convicted of medical marijuana crimes be resentenced or have their records expunged retroactively for low-level marijuana crimes that would no longer be illegal. Unless you’re a controlling dick, why would you be opposed to that?
3. You’re sick and tired of making dispensary runs for your friends…
Back when I was a regular marijuana user and actually had a medical card, I’d regularly get hit up by friends and family members to buy stuff for them at the dispensary. Obviously, I’d never take them up on that offer because that would have been very illegal and wrong.
If SQ 820 passes, those friends and family members will be able to go to the dispensary on their own and buy whatever they want, and stop pressuring others to break the law for them.
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4. It will raise more money for schools…
Thanks to conservative politicians, Oklahoma public schools have to ironically depend on casinos, lotteries, and marijuana to get much-needed funding. If that seems kind of fucked up, well, it is, but those are the cards we’re dealt in a state led by people who want to dismantle and destroy public education.
5. The Conservative Oklahoma Ruling Class is adamantly against it…
Just like with SQ 788, SQ 820 is being admittedly opposed by the Oklahoma law enforcement complex, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, State Chamber of Commerce, and all the other authoritarian squares who want to tell others how they should live their lives. When is it ever a good idea to be on the same side as these asshats?
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6. You illegally smoked weed in college…
As he admitted in his debate with Joy Hofmeister, Kevin Stitt smoked weed in college and, sadly, wasn’t caught, which means his life wasn’t wrongly destroyed at a young age by the Oklahoma Criminal Justice System, preventing him from becoming a successful predatory lender and politician.
Anyway, if you smoked weed when it was illegal, don’t make others take the same risks as you once did. That would be stupid and hypocritical like an Oklahoma politician, and nobody should want to be that.
7. SQ 820 really needs your vote…
As I mentioned, SQ 820 is essentially a toss-up. According to the Ogle Mole Network, high voter turnout in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metros are key for its passage. If you’re sane and think the prohibition on marijuana should end, get out and do what the ads on this site are asking you to do and vote “yes.”
Also, remind your stoner friends to get out and do the same thing.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
