OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Litigation over the wording of a proposed 2016 statewide medical marijuana ballot measure will most likely prevent voters from deciding the issue this November.
Initiative proponents, Oklahomans for Health, are suing Attorney General Scott Pruitt after he rewrote the initiative’s ballot title in a manner that implies that the measure seeks to legalize marijuana use for all adults.
In fact, State Question 788 only permits the possession and use of marijuana by those who are recommended cannabis therapy by a state licensed physician and who possess a state-issued license to do so.
Because of the lawsuit, Oklahoma voters will not likely have the opportunity to decide the issue until 2018, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Voters in Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota will vote on medical use measures this fall. A Missouri statewide initiative seeking to regulate patients’ use of marijuana is in litigation. Voters in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada will also vote this November on initiatives legalizing the adult use of marijuana.
A summary of 2016 ballot measures and their status is available online.