What Does State Question 808 Mean?
Video Transcribed: This is Isaiah Brydie and in this video I’m going to be covering state question 808. State question 808 on its face is very, very short, and you can get a good opinion of what all the state question entails by just reading the title page of the state questions.
We’re actually going to start there and this is going to be what I consider page one. Right here on the second line we see that the state question would decriminalized cannabis hemp in all related products for all persons all stop period. It actually takes cannabis and marijuana and takes it from being a law enforcement and criminal justice issue and turns it into a public health issue instead. There will be no people that are denied employment, equal protection of the law or the right of self-defense because of their use of cannabis.
All persons currently or formerly incarcerated because of cannabis offenses will be exonerated as such offenses and also to be given reparations. That’s an interesting thing that is in play here in this state question and also to at any campuses that no state official will assist a federal law enforcement in enforcing the Controlled Substances Act.
That would entail not just marijuana but also to any other schedule one, two or three narcotic, which is quite expensive. Going from page one into page two we have a section two, the right of cannabis consumption, and this reads the right of all persons to consume cannabis is cannabis shall not be infringed. State legislators still make no statute authority nor any legislative brands of any municipality shall make any legal ordinances or bridging the rights of the persons to cultivate, consume and cosign for the sale, barter or charity of cannabis.
Charity entails that cannabis can potentially be given away. This is the actual provision of the state question that would make it legal to consume cannabis as recreational use. Going on from page two to page three, section five. This is the section that actually calls for the exoneration, release and reparations of people currently incarcerated for cannabis related offenses.
It does not lay out any quantity, so it does not differentiate between someone who’s been arrested for a ounce of marijuana or 10 pounds of marijuana. It’s a full on all stop exoneration of anyone who has committed a cannabis related offense. And also called for reparations to be given to those peoples. It does not say where those reparations would come from, what that dollar amount would be if it even is in dollars, so that’d be something that would have to be clarified at a later date.
Staying on page three going to section eight it calls for the state to make all standards for quality and control and for a baseline standard for cannabis consumption for the general public, subject to reasonably extensive public input, so it also will call for a public call to action for public notice and comment on those rules and regulations.
The assumption here is that the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority will still be the actual state agency that gives out those rules and baseline standards. Staying on page three going down to section 12 there will be what “reasonable tax” that is put on to recreational use cannabis and there are no guidelines for what a reasonable tax would be.
This state question just not delineate medical marijuana from recreational use marijuana. It is just speaking to marijuana broadly, making it recreational and that’s it.
That is the whole state question in its entirety. If you guys have any opinions on it, I’d love to hear about those opinions in the comments below. If you want to reach out to me, my number is (918) 932-2800. Please feel free to give me a call and I’ll see you guys next time.