Marijuana seems to be on an unstoppable march to legalization in the United States. New York and New Jersey are racing to join the 10 states that already allow recreational use of cannabis. Some 65 percent of Americans favor legalization, and several potential Democratic candidates for president support ending federal prohibitions on marijuana. This huge…Read More
Recreational marijuana supporters haven’t given up a desire to get the issue on the ballot, despite having a steeper hill to climb following the Nov. 6 election. Increased voter turnout resulted in a larger number of signatures required for a citizen-led effort to change a law or amend the constitution. Voters cast 824,831 votes for…Read More
There has been an increase by up to 6 percent in the number of highway crashes in four of the states where the recreational use of marijuana has been legalized, according to a pair of new studies. The new reports do not prove there’s a direct risk caused by the use of marijuana among motorists,…Read More
The campaign gathering signatures to put recreational marijuana on the ballot grossly inflated its totals in the weeks before turning them over to state officials, a former Green the Vote board member said Monday. Dody Sullivan, who said she left the organization a week ago, said the signature count for State Question 797 on July…Read More
It is highly unlikely that two additional marijuana state questions will make the Nov. 6 general election ballot, Oklahoma Secretary of State James Williamson said Monday. State law allows for a protest to be filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and “if a protest is filed, it is virtually impossible,” he said. State Question 796…Read More
Just weeks after Oklahomans voted for medical marijuana, another initiative petition could expand the state’s laws to include recreational use. Supporters of State Question 797 began gathering signatures before the June 26 statewide ballot that saw more than 56 percent of voters approving of medical cannabis. Isaac Caviness, president of Green the Vote, hopes that…Read More
Amid efforts to establish a new medical marijuana industry in Oklahoma, activists want to enshrine the right to use marijuana — both for medical purposes and recreationally — in the state constitution. Green the Vote, headed by Tulsan Isaac Caviness, is promoting two state questions — 796 and 797 — of which it filed notice…Read More
The big story from the June 26th primary was the overwhelming approval by voters of SQ788. We had hopes that the swing by Republican voters in the last few weeks would push numbers into the ‘no’ category. But there was no way to model for the deluge of voters who showed up to vote on…Read More
A comprehensive 2015 scientific review found medical marijuana to be useful only for a small number of medical conditions. Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, an international team of researchers found scant evidence to support broad claims for the drug’s effectiveness. Although clinical trials showed that chronic neuropathic pain and cancer-related pain could…Read More
A new poll completed on June 7th by Right Strategy Group showed voter approval of State Question 788 — so-called ‘medical’ marijuana — at 50-43 in favor. While those in favor outnumber those against, the gap is narrowing very quickly. Just a month ago support for 788 was easily in double-digits and just 60 days…Read More