‘David Beats Goliath’: Faith Coalition Celebrates Oklahoma’s Recreational Marijuana Defeat
Speaking at the Oklahoma Faith Coalition’s recent news conference were the Rev. Darryl Wootton, superintendent of Oklahoma Assemblies of God; Paul Abner, the coalition’s executive director; the Stephen Hamilton, a priest in the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City; Brian Hobbs, editor of the Baptist Messenger; and Dave McKellips, northeastern Oklahoma superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana in Oklahoma outspent opponents by millions of dollars.
Yet when the votes were counted Tuesday, the anti-marijuana side — backed by prominent faith leaders and law enforcement officials — prevailed.
And soundly so, as this Bible Belt state rejected State Question 820 by a 62% to 38% tally.
“Last night was a big win,” the Rev. Paul Abner, executive director of the Oklahoma Faith Coalition, said Wednesday. “It was in every sense of the word a ‘David beats Goliath’ win because the other side had a lot more money.
“They had the press on their side,” he added, complaining about what he saw as biased TV news coverage, “and they had history on their side.”
READ: God And Pot: Both Sides Cite Faith In Oklahoma’s Recreational Marijuana Fight
Brian Hobbs, editor of the Baptist Messenger, the official newspaper of the state’s Southern Baptists, called the outcome “a great moment for Oklahoma.”
Hobbs praised the state’s Baptists for declaring “‘enough is enough’ when it comes to the explosive growth of marijuana in our state.”
As The Frontier, an online news organization in Oklahoma, put it, the state “didn’t say ‘no’ to recreational pot — it said ‘hell no.’”
Voters delivered that message less than five years after approving medical marijuana 57% to 43% — a decision that led to roughly 12,000 pot businesses and nearly 400,000 enrolled patients.
Oklahoma voters decided not to expand marijuana sales to adults 21 and older. The election came almost five years after the state gave approval to medical marijuana. (Photo by Whitney Bryan, Oklahoma Watch)
As medical marijuana has proliferated in one of the reddest of the red states, some have dubbed Oklahoma the “Wild West of Weed.”
Besides expanding marijuana sales to adults 21 and older, this week’s initiative — known as SQ 820 — would have established a framework to expunge past marijuana-related convictions.
Oklahoma Watch, an investigative journalism site, reported these financial details on the day after SQ 820’s defeat:
The Yes on 820 Oklahomans for Sensible Marjuana Laws campaign raised about $3.2 million by the end of 2022, spending almost all of it on gathering petitions and putting the initiative on the ballot. In the final two weeks leading up to the election, the Yes campaign reported spending of $1.68 million.
The Protect our Kids No on 820 campaign formed in January and has yet to file a contribution report. The campaign reported spending almost $220,000 in the final two weeks of the campaign.
The Oklahoma Faith Coalition, which worked with the No on 820 campaign, included representatives of the Assemblies of God, the state’s Southern Baptists, the Catholic Church and the Church of the Nazarene.
Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who is Catholic and a former FBI agent, led the anti-marijuana group, citing concerns about crime and dangers to children.
Abner, who was ordained in the Assemblies of God, said SQ 820 lost because of “an unprecedented reach by the faith leaders of Oklahoma, the pastors of Oklahoma, to reach out and really lead the way and really be the moral compass for their individual communities.”
On the other side, Michelle Tilley, who led the fight in support of SQ 820, said she’ll keep advocating for change. The pro-marijuana campaign relied mainly on funding from out-of-state organizations and criminal justice reform groups.
In an interview last week with ReligionUnplugged.com, Tilley, who grew up Baptist, talked about her spiritual calling to seek criminal justice reform.
Despite Tuesday’s result, Tilley predicted Oklahoma will join 21 other states in legalizing recreational marijuana “sooner rather than later.”
Michelle Tilley led the campaign in support of legalizing recreational marijuana in Oklahoma. Photo provided by Yes on 820 group.
“A two-tiered system, where one group of Oklahomans is free to use this product and the other is treated like criminals,” Tilley said in a statement, “does not make logical sense. Furthermore, the cost in lost revenue and lives disrupted by senseless arrests hurts all of us.”
Before the election, Jared Moffat, state campaigns manager for the Marijuana Policy Project, predicted a close vote on SQ 820 — “win or lose.”
That didn’t happen.
Just 25% of registered voters cast ballots on SQ 820, the only issue in Tuesday’s election except for local questions in a few places
“I underestimated how much low turnout would hurt the 820 effort,” Moffat told ReligionUnplugged.com. “The fear tactics from opponents clearly worked.
“I think it’s also obvious that we, as proponents of reform, have more work to do to provide education about how legalization is working in other states,” he added in an email, “and reassure older and conservative voters that regulating cannabis is a more responsible and safer policy than prohibition.”
In this 2021 file photo, an employee is seen checking the tracking tag on a marijuana plant at Apothecary Extracts grow site in Beggs, Oklahoma. (Photo by Whitney Bryen, Oklahoma Watch)
But Abner said Oklahoma voters sent a clear message.
“Now our next job is regulating the medical marijuana industry of Oklahoma and getting that in line with what would sincerely and genuinely help people,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with that, but we’ll be there at the Capitol working on those types of things.”
The faith coalition leader became emotional as he talked about SQ 820’s defeat.
“Our Savior took care of us,” Abner said. “He opened the doors. He made the way, and today is a day of victory.”
Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for ReligionUnplugged.com and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 18 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.