Oklahoma voters could decide on medical marijuana this November

Oklahoma City - Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge today announced his office has completed the counting of signatures for State Question 788, Initiative Petition 412. The measure, which deals with legalizing medical marijuana, would amend and add to Oklahoma Statute Title 63, Public Health and Safety.

The secretary of state’s office counted a total of 67,761 signatures for the proposed state question. A total of 65,987 signatures is needed for an initiative petition amending Oklahoma statutes to be placed on an election ballot. That equates to 8 percent of the 824,831 ballots cast in the 2014 gubernatorial election.

There are still several steps left in the process before this initiative can qualify to be placed on a ballot for a vote of the people.

As required by law, the secretary of state’s office will send a report on its findings to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court determines whether the number of signatures counted is sufficient for the proposal to be placed on an election ballot.

Oklahoma’s attorney general will have five business days to review the ballot title. If the proposed title is found non-compliant, the attorney general has 10 business days to submit a rewritten ballot title. The next step will be notification to the press to announce publicly that any member of the public can, within 10 business days, challenge the signatures and/or the proposed ballot title. When the measure has cleared all legal hurdles, it can qualify to be placed on a ballot for a vote of the people.

The Gayly – August 23, 2016 @ 6:30 p.m.