Supporter Of Recreational Marijuana Discusses What's Next After State Question Vote

Supporters of State Question 820 said their efforts to legalize recreational marijuana in Oklahoma are far from over, after voters strongly rejected the proposal.

More than 560,000 people voted in Tuesday’s special election to legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older, with exceptions.

A commanding 62% of Oklahomans voted against it.

“I wouldn’t be betting anytime soon that we’ll be seeing this again on the ballot,” said Scott Mitchell, News On 6’s Political Analyst.

Mitchell said the proposal had a hard time of standing a chance from the start.

He said the question was complicated with criminal justice reform and tax adjustments rolled into the proposal.

“Everything that was packed into it was working against it,” said Mitchell. “At the end of the day, when you take that and move it to a special election, I think it was doomed from the beginning.”

Supporters of the state question said they felt good heading into election day. This includes Roni Jawdeh, who owns dispensaries in Tulsa and Vinita.

His only fear was the special election.

“By putting it on its own on a separate ballot, that definitely gave us a much less chance,” said Jawdeh. “If it was with the regular elections, a lot of people were going anyway and they would have voted anyway.”

Jawdeh said misconceptions also played a part in the proposal failing. Despite all of the money put into the campaign, there wasn’t enough to educate everyone and that’s something supporters need to do a better job of next time.

“There was a lot of propaganda going around,” said Jawdeh.

He said supporters of recreational marijuana are planning to meet and discuss their next efforts.