Oklahoma Gov. Stitt Urges Voters to Revisit Medical Marijuana Law and “Shut It Down”

2 February 2026

Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program, approved by voters in 2018, is facing renewed political pressure from Gov. Kevin Stitt, who says the state should put the issue back on the ballot and “shut it down.”

In his State of the State address on Monday, Stitt called the medical marijuana industry “out of control” and described it as a major public safety concern. He said Oklahoma has more dispensaries than pharmacies and claimed the industry “hides” cartel activity, human trafficking, and foreign influence. While he credited regulators and law enforcement with working to push back on illegal activity, he argued the state cannot “put a band-aid on a broken bone” and should let voters decide again.

Stitt’s remarks did not come with draft ballot language, and it is not yet clear what form a new vote would take, or whether it would seek a full repeal of the medical marijuana system or a narrower rewrite. The governor’s office has said there are two routes available to repeal an already-passed state question:

1. Legislative referendum, or
2. Another state question placed on the ballot.

Law enforcement activity has been a central part of the governor’s argument. The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office has said that in the past two years it shut down more than 9,000 illegal grows statewide. The State Bureau of Narcotics has said it made hundreds of arrests in the last five years.

Reaction at the Capitol is mixed. Sen. Lonnie Paxton, a Republican from Tuttle, said he supported Stitt’s call and has long argued for reining in the state’s medical marijuana system. Paxton pointed to election results, noting that medical marijuana passed with 57% of the vote, while a later recreational marijuana state question was defeated by 63% of voters.

Others argue that reversing a voter-approved program is the wrong approach. Sen. Julia Kirt, a Democrat from Oklahoma City, said she does not support revisiting state questions and said lawmakers should focus on implementing them well. She also argued that the legislature could have added guardrails before the 2018 vote, rather than trying to rewrite the program years later.

The broader context includes changes to Oklahoma’s citizen initiative process. Last year, the governor approved legislation that adjusts initiative “gist” language that appears on ballots and limits how many petition signatures can come from a single county, depending on whether the proposal is statutory or constitutional. Around the same period, activists behind an adult-use legalization proposal withdrew a planned 2026 ballot initiative after they did not submit petitions by the deadline.

For medical cannabis patients, the governor’s call raises practical questions that are not yet answered, including whether lawmakers would seek to repeal patient access entirely or reshape the program in a way that tightens eligibility, product types, or business licensing. For dispensary owners and other operators, the debate may add to uncertainty around investment decisions, staffing, and supply contracts, particularly if a statewide vote becomes likely.

State agencies have largely stayed quiet in response. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and the attorney general’s office have not commented on Stitt’s remarks.

For now, Stitt has put the issue back in the spotlight. Whether the matter returns to the ballot will likely depend on how lawmakers weigh public safety concerns, enforcement realities, and the fact that the program was originally adopted by voters.