ACLU Commends Oklahoma Supreme Court for Rejecting Attempted Rewrite of SQ 788 Medical Marijuana Petition

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected former Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s rewrite of medical marijuana State Question 788.

The following is attributable to Ryan Kiesel, ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director:

“We applaud the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision today to strike down the former Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s rewrite of State Question 788. It is the duty of the Attorney General to write the ballot title in a clear and concise manner that accurately reflects the intentions of the petitioners. In this case, the former attorney general failed to do so, instead inserting his own personal politics into the process. In tilting that the rewrite did not reflect the intentions of the petitioners, the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s opinion has ensured that the intentions of the petitioners and the more than 65,000 Oklahomans who signed their name in favor of medical marijuana are accurately and appropriately represented. With this victory, we are one step closer to a drug policy that treats people patients rather than as criminals. While we welcome an opportunity to continue to push for a more sensible drug policy that includes the legalization of marijuana for adults sometime in the future, that was not on the table today. Our clients very clearly petitioned to see medical marijuana on the ballot and we are pleased to see their historic effort to give Oklahomans the chance to vote on this issue will move forward.”

Please attribute the following to Chip Paul, Co-Chair of Oklahomans for Health:

"We are pleased that the Oklahoma State Supreme Court upheld the ballot title which was circulated while collecting our signatures.  We are extremely grateful for the help of the ACLU in representing us in this matter.  We will eagerly await our election date and begin immediately organizing our YES campaign.  As we kick off our campaign at the State Capitol on April 20th, we urge those who support the measure to join us in calling for lawmakers to lend their support to the cause. Medical marijuana is an issue of grave importance to so many Oklahomans. We move forward with this campaign with the hope that people across the state will stand in favor of this policy that is fiscally and morally responsible.”