I’m a mother, a grandma and a retired schoolteacher. I’m not loopy about marijuana and I don’t use it, however I’m excited to vote “yes” on State Question 820 on March 7. To me and plenty of different mother and father, the legalization of recreational marijuana is not about medicine, it is about placing our state on sounder financial footing, making wise legal guidelines that promote public security and constructing a extra simply state.
More:Counterpoint: Why you need to vote ‘no’ on Oklahoma State Question 820
First, it is clear that Oklahomans stand to realize from an unlimited inflow in new tax income. SQ 820 would place a 15% tax on recreational marijuana, which consultants say would generate over $100 million a 12 months in income when mixed with state and native taxes.
We all know, and I witnessed firsthand once I was a instructor, that Oklahoma faculties are dangerously underfunded. Many lecturers are fleeing the occupation and our college students are paying the value. Oklahoma ranks within the backside six states for per-pupil spending on public training, and passing SQ 820 can throw our faculties and our college students a lifeline. This is not some fantasy; we solely must look subsequent door to see what we’re lacking out on as we speak. Since Colorado legalized marijuana greater than a decade in the past, its public faculties have obtained over half a billion dollars in further income from its marijuana tax.
Second, SQ 820 requires and…
