Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt recently told KTUL that legalizing adult-use cannabis will not help the state’s budget shortfall.
The governor said the state’s medical cannabis program “looks a lot like recreational,” and so a taxed and regulated adult-use program would not do much to boost tax revenue.
“By calling it recreational, I don’t think you have any more users or any more tax revenue off of that,” Stitt told the news outlet in an interview. “Pretty much, it looks a lot like recreational in our state as well.”
At least two groups are competing to bring adult-use cannabis legalization initiatives to Oklahoma’s November 2020 ballot, and Rep. Scott Fetgatter announced plans earlier this month to begin work on a legalization bill in the hopes that a taxed and regulated market would provide a new source of revenue in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
