Many Texans from the Dallas-Fort Worth area routinely drive across the Red River to gamble in Las Vegas-style or to relax at cabins or swim and ski in lakes in southern Oklahoma. Soon, they could come north for another draw: recreational marijuana.
Oklahoma voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve a ballot measure that legalizes consuming the plant for adults 21 and older. The conservative state already has one of the nation’s most robust medical marijuana programs, and industry proponents hope an influx of Texas consumers will be a boon for a market that’s become saturated.
Oklahoma already has one of the most liberal medical marijuana programs in the country, with roughly 10% of the state’s adult population having a medical license. Unlike most other states, Oklahoma has no list of qualifying medical conditions, allows patients to get a recommendation from a doctor online, and gives licenses that are valid for two years.
“They allowed for a free-market cannabis industry, and that’s what everyone wanted, but now we need more customers,” said Chip Baker, a grower who also runs a marijuana garden supply shop in Oklahoma City. “There needs to be an influx of people here to buy this product. It’s just simple math.” Pattah said the expansion of legalized sales in Michigan in 2018 was a huge boon to medical operators in that state, particularly those who ran dispensaries near its border with Ohio and Indiana.
“SQ 820 throws a match into the middle of what already is a powder keg in rural Oklahoma,” said Logan County Sheriff Damon Devereaux, president of the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association.
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