Oklahoma activists say they won’t be deterred in their latest push to put marijuana legalization on the state ballot by a new law the Republican governor signed to significantly restrict the state’s citizen initiative process.

Just about two months after the group Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action (ORCA) revived their push to end prohibition in the state, filing an initiative for the 2026 ballot to create an adult-use marijuana program, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) gave final approval to legislation that some advocates worry will inhibit future citizen-led policy changes, including cannabis reform.

The newly enacted law would put additional requirements on initiative “gist” language that voters see on the ballot and also revise policies around signature gathering to make it so petitioners could only submit signatures from up to 11.5 percent of registered voters in a single county for statutory proposals and 20.8 percent for constitutional measures.

In theory, that could seriously complicate the task of getting enough signatures to qualify any measure for the ballot—perhaps especially for a cannabis legalization campaign where the expectation is that advocates would be collecting a large portion of signatures from more populous, left-leaning counties. Now there’s an explicit limitation on how many petitions can be signed in those jurisdictions.

But ORCA founder Jed Green said on Monday that this isn’t a fatal blow to the campaign, even if lawmakers who supported the ballot restriction legislation have now been assigned a “Double-F” grade for impairing the ability of voters to decide on key policy issues.

Green suggested that getting the ballot proposal filed ahead of the legislature’s vote and governor’s signing of the bill could help ORCA potentially avert challenges associated with the more stringent requirements for initiative summary language. He said that was a deliberate decision, as the group “wanted to go ahead and get in line and get filed before lawmakers made this error in judgment.”

That said, he recognized the hypothetical possibility that the state attorney general could move to contest the language, which has “the potential to get real messy.” But considering that the secretary of state approved the gist of an earlier, 2023 version of the legalization proposal that voters ultimately rejected, Green floated the possibility of bringing him in as a witness in any challenge to defend the legality of the summary.

“Now there’s not a chance the [attorney general] is going to screw us,” he said. “Let me be crystal clear about something on this: We’re not getting screwed, guys. This process is nothing like what we deal with with lawmakers here. This is a wholly separate animal, and I’ve got a shit ton of experience doing this.”

In social media posts, ORCA has similarly expressed frustration over the newly enacted law—but also confidence that they will be able to overcome the procedural obstacles.

“Not to worry y’all. The team here at ORCA has a couple decades of experience with this process,” it said on Monday, sharing a link to a story about the ballot initiative law. “This attempt to take away your rights and duplicate government will not age well!”

A group working on a separate initiative to institute open primary elections in the state has signaled that it will challenge the new ballot restriction law with litigation.

“SB 1027 is bad policy,” Margaret Kobos, founder and CEO of Oklahoma United, said. “It suppresses voter input, makes it harder for Oklahomans to hold their elected officials accountable, and sends the message that those in power don’t trust the people who put them there. SB 1027 does nothing but prove that Oklahomans’ long held distrust of state government is well-earned.”

Here’s what ORCA’s latest marijuana legalization initiative would accomplish:

• It would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to eight ounces of cannabis for personal use. They could also grow up to 12 plants and possess what’s harvested, and they would be able to have up to one ounce of cannabis concentrates.
• The proposed constitutional amendment would also provide that Oklahoma banks would not be penalized simply for servicing state-licensed cannabis businesses.
• Further, the initiative includes protections to make it so any adults would be shielded from being penalized with respect to “healthcare, housing, employment, public assistance, public benefit, parental right, educational opportunity, extracurricular activity” and also “licensure or licensed activity” such as firearm ownership and driving rights due to any legal cannabis activity.
• As part of those protections, the presence of THC metabolites in a person’s system could not be used as evidence of impairment.
• Local governments would not be permitted to impose bans on the marijuana home cultivation, and any regulations they set on the activity could not be “unduly burdensome.” Additionally, no public ordinances on public smoking for marijuana could be more restrictive than what’s currently in place for tobacco.
• Existing medical cannabis dispensaries, as well as any new retail licensees, would be able to start selling to adult consumers starting 60 days after the measure’s enactment. After 180 days, they could start delivering cannabis products to adults.
• The same state departments that oversee the current medical cannabis program would be responsible for regulate the adult-use market.
• A 10 percent excise tax would be imposed on adult-use marijuana products, and the initiative stipulates that the legislature would be empowered to decrease that tax rate but not raise it.
• Revenue from those tax dollars would go toward the state general fund (40 percent), as well as county governments (30 percent) and municipal governments (30 percent) where retail sales occurred. For unincorporated jurisdictions, revenue would be split evenly, with 5o percent for the general fund and 50 percent for the counties.
• Sixty days after the measure’s enactment, the tax rate on marijuana for registered cannabis patients would be eliminated.
• It also states that state-licensed marijuana businesses couldn’t be prevented from engaging in interstate commerce if there’s a change in federal law, or a court action, permitting such activity. If that happens, the legislature would be authorized to place up to a 3 percent wholesale tax on cannabis exported beyond state lines.

If the measure is cleared for signature gathering, ORCA will need to collect at least 172,993 signatures to secure ballot placement.

Green previously said that one of the key differences between the initiative his organization is pushing and the one that failed at the ballot in 2023 is that it accounts for concerns about licensing rules. Many have criticized the rollout of the state’s medical marijuana law, which led to a dramatic proliferation of dispensaries, and Green said the failed adult-use measure effectively duplicated that licensing scheme.

Meanwhile in Oklahoma, lawmakers in March advanced a bill aimed at protecting gun rights of state-registered medical marijuana patients, although federal law still bars cannabis users from owning firearms regardless of their patient status.

Another state bill filed in January by a GOP legislator would criminalize the use of medical cannabis during pregnancy.

Colorado’s Psychedelics Program Is Now ‘Fully Launched For Operations’ As State Officials Certify Testing Lab

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

Texas, Tennessee and Alabama lawmakers prevailed in prohibiting certain cannabinoid hemp products this month, creating a shockwave for Southern business owners and Cannabis Business Times readers alike.

In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation on May 21 that will ban products containing THCA or synthetic cannabinoids as well as prohibit online sales for other hemp products starting in January 2026 in the Volunteer State, representing the most-read storyline this month.

Similarly, the Texas Legislature sent Gov. Greg Abbott Senate Bill 3 this week, legislation that will prohibit manufacturing and selling hemp products containing any amount of THC or other derivatives, other than nonintoxicating CBD or CBG, taking the No. 2 spot among CBT’s most popular articles in May.

“We are not banning hemp. We are banning high,” Texas House Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, said May 21 on the House floor. “If it gets you high, it is not legal anymore. We will not be allowing the sale of THC-based intoxicants in any forms.”

And, in the No. 5 spot, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation on May 14 that will prohibit smokable hemp products and more strictly regulate consumable hemp products beginning in January 2026.

Other stories that readers did not want to miss out on this month included an op-ed from Hirsh Jain, the director of market intelligence at Verdant Strategies, who outlined the significance of the German cannabis market for global industry expansion; and a piece on Drug Enforcement Administration nominee Terry Cole pledging to move forward on the cannabis rescheduling process but refusing to commit to a Schedule III proposal.  

Don’t miss out on our Top 10 stories from May 2025.

The Texas Senate has approved a House-passed bill to expand the state’s medical marijuana program, with amendments, including to restore the addition of chronic pain as a qualifying condition for cannabis after the key provision was stripped out at the legislation’s last committee stop.

The measure from Rep. Cody Harris (R) advanced through the Senate on Tuesday. Because it was amended, it will need to return to the House of Representatives for concurrence before potentially being sent to the governor’s desk.

The measure would add additional dispensaries and expand the state’s list of qualifying conditions to include chronic pain, while also allowing medical marijuana for end-of-life patients in palliative or hospice care.

As passed by the House, the currently limited list of conditions would have also been extended to include glaucoma, traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal neuropathy, Crohn’s disease or other inflammatory bowel disease and degenerative disc disease. But those conditions were removed in the Senate State Affairs Committee.

The bill will allow patients to access a wider range of cannabis product types, including patches, lotions, suppositories, approved inhalers, nebulizers and and vaping devices.

Members of the Senate State Affairs Committee had also removed chronic pain from the list, drawing criticism from proponents, including Rep. Tom Oliverson (R), who suggested there was an agreement around the issue with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), the presiding officer of the Senate.

But while Patrick disputed the characterization of their conversation, the lieutenant governor and lawmakers ultimately reached a deal to reinsert the condition into the bill with an amendment that passed on the floor, among others.

“When you get an opiate, that is the highest level of pain you can get in our bodies, right? The medical board threaded that needle and we are using that definition,” Sen. Charles Perry (R) said on the floor, making the point that those who could qualify for medical cannabis are likely already prescribed opioids. “There wasn’t a legislative definition, but there was a medical one, and we tied it to that.”

Another adopted floor amendment would require any dispensary owner with more than 10 percent control of the business to submit fingerprints for a background check, according to a summary from the Texas Cannabis Policy Center.

Perry, sponsor of the Senate companion version of the legislation, had previously indicated that the House measure that was transmitted to the chamber would likely be amended, calling it a “work in process.”

While the bill as passed by the House would have allowed military veterans to become registered cannabis patients for any medical condition—and allow the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to further expand the list of qualifying conditions—those provisions were also removed in the Senate committee.

The bill that advanced through the Senate would, however, mandate that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) issue nine additional dispensary licenses, a decrease compared to the measure as introduced that called for 11 new licenses. It would further allow dispensaries to open satellite locations if approved.

Notably, an amendment adopted on the House floor earlier this month would grandfather existing medical cannabis dispensary satellite locations, ensure a competitive business licensing application process, create a timeline for when new licenses must be issued, amend background check rules, allow physicians to determine dosage and remove a 1.2 gram limit for possession by patients and instead let doctors recommend an amount they see fit.

A second amendment approved by House members would require doctors who issue medical cannabis recommendations to report them to the state’s prescription drug monitoring program.

Regulators would be mandated to promulgate rules for the expanded program by October 1, 2025.

If ultimately enacted, the bill would build upon Texas’s current, limited medical marijuana program, which allows patients with one of eight qualifying condition access certain non-smokable cannabis products containing no more than 0.5 percent by dry weight.

This comes in the background of a highly contentious debate over another piece of legislation that was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) this week to ban consumable hemp products containing any amount of THC, even though federal law permits hemp products containing up to 0.3 percent THC by dry weight.

Democrats have attacked the bill as an assault on personal liberty and gone after Patrick, the lieutenant governor, for his zeal around the ban.

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A recent poll found that four in five Texas voters want to see marijuana legalized in some form, and most also want to see regulations around cannabis relaxed.

Meanwhile in Texas, a House committee approved a Senate-passed bill earlier this month that would prohibit cities from putting any citizen initiative on local ballots that would decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances—as several localities have already done despite lawsuits from the state attorney general.

Under the proposal, state law would be amended to say that local entities “may not place an item on a ballot, including a municipal charter or charter amendment, that would provide that the local entity will not fully enforce” state drug laws.

While several courts have previously upheld local cannabis decriminalization laws, an appellate court comprised of three conservative justices appointed by the governor has recently pushed back against two of those rulings, siding with the state in its legal challenge to the marijuana policy in Austin and San Marcos.

Despite the ongoing litigation and advancement of the House and Senate bills, Texas activists have their targets set on yet another city, Kyle, where they hope put an initiative before voters to enact local marijuana reform at the ballot this coming November.

Separately this month, House lawmakers also passed a measure to support research on the therapeutic potential of ibogaine with the aim of encouraging federal approval of the psychedelic.

That bill, SB 2308, would create a grant program through the state Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to provide funding for clinical trials exploring ibogaine as a potential treatment option for people suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) and other serious mental health condition

Earlier this month, meanwhile, the Texas House also gave final passage to a pair of bills designed to ensure speedy access to psychedelic-assisted therapy in the event of federal approval from Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Nevada Bill To Make It So Past Marijuana Convictions Don’t Disqualify People From Being Foster Parents Heads To Governor’s Desk

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.