“A lot of this is stuff that has been advocated for by a lot of folks in the community and industry over the last three years, and I don’t see it’s going to make it through the legislative process any time soon,” Jed Green, who helped establish the group Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action, said of State Questions 817 and 818.

According to Green, a new Oklahoma State Cannabis Commission would take over industry oversight from the Oklahoma State Medical Marijuana Authority, which had itself been created under the state Department of Health by State Question 788.

According to Green, one of the driving factors for the proposal was to ensure oversight independent from the state Health Department “to increase transparency and create a structure that could be functional.”

“When decisions are being made about how funds are being spent, … you have to go to either the commissioner of health or the governor to understand the decisions that are being made,” he said. “You can try to have conversations and be productive with OMMA directors, but at the end of the day they’re having talks that you’re not in the room for.

“And they’re making decisions that are not in line with the industry, and it’s tough. We have all the reason to believe the governor is not going to sign off on a new state agency if it makes it through the Senate.”

Nearly 178,000 valid signatures would be required on each of the petitions for it to be placed on a ballot in 2022.