Just over 10 years since Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, nearly two-fifths of the nation have persisted in the trend of allowing anyone over the age of 21 to purchase the substance without a medical necessity.

But on Tuesday night, constituents in Oklahoma pulled the plug on a statewide effort to legalize recreational cannabis, meaning residents will still be required to have a medical license in order to enter dispensaries in the state, which is now home to more retail cannabis stores than Colorado, Oregon, and Washington combined.

Detractors of State Question 820 made children's health one of its key issues while some law enforcement worried a "yes" vote would complicate efforts to crack down on illegal growing operations throughout the state's rural counties.

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"Regardless of where one stands on the question of marijuana legalization, the stark reality is that organized crime from China and Mexico has infiltrated Oklahoma's medical marijuana industry," Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, told the Washington Examiner, saying he was "proud" that 63% voted against the measure. Drummond added that he'd "continue to focus on this serious threat to public safety by targeting the illegal grow operations throughout our state."

Last year, a man accused of killing four Chinese nationals at an illegal Oklahoma marijuana farm demanded employees give him $300,000 as a return for his "investment" in the illegal operation, prosecutors said. And just last month, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said people "tied to violent criminal organizations" had a Payne County growing site raided, resulting in the seizure of 28,000 plants and nearly 500 pounds of processed marijuana.

Oklahoma, which is home to Republican firebrands such as Gov. Kevin Stitt and maintains a GOP supermajority in the state legislature, joined similarly conservative states that previously rejected efforts to usher in recreational cannabis, including similar proposal defeats in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota last year.

Had SQ 820 passed, it would have allowed anyone over 21 to purchase and possess 1 ounce of marijuana or concentrate variants of the substance. Additionally, people could grow up to 12 marijuana plants. Proponents of the bill believed the sales subjected to a 15% excise tax would help fund municipalities, public schools, court systems, and substance abuse treatment alongside the state's general revenue fund.

Ryan Kiesel, a former state lawmaker and organizer behind SQ 820, argued recreational cannabis would help attract tourists from Texas, which has not legalized cannabis even for medical purposes.

“I want to be able to sell legal, regulated, and taxed marijuana to those Texans over the age of 21 and take their tax dollars and invest them in Oklahoma schools and Oklahoma healthcare," Kiesel said ahead of the vote.

State Republican Rep. Scott Fetgatter told the Washington Examiner that some of his constituents would have been fine with SQ 820 passage and said he believes the resounding vote against the measure "sends a message to the legislature that we have to continue our work to better regulate the existing medical marijuana industry in Oklahoma."

"The prevailing belief here is that marijuana should be a viable option for those who deal with chronic pain or other illnesses," Fetgatter contended, saying he would continue his work in the state Capitol to address concerns such as "law and tax enforcement issues, strain on utilities, illegal operations, other public safety issues, and more."

Ahead of the vote, some local law enforcement proponents of the measure released ads suggesting it would help the state's criminal justice system, while others released statements voicing concerns about a decline in mental health linked to highly potent THC products.

“Oklahoma will be hurt by increased access to marijuana,” Gourley said in a statement. “Our mental health professionals confirm that the use of today’s high THC product leads to psychoses and schizophrenia, two diagnoses that are directly tied to homelessness.”

Pat McFerron with Protect Our Kids NO 820 told the Washington Examiner he believes the results against the Sooner State measure and similar states that rejected recreational cannabis last year is a sign that "much of America is waking up to the higher levels of THC that are available [and] the corresponding addiction."

Kiesel argued the measure's passage would also reduce the number of arrests "for small amounts of marijuana," Kiesel told NonDoc, stating there were 4,500 arrests made for minor possession in 2021.

But McFerron argued if anyone is being held in jail on small possession offenses, they're being held "illegally" due to the passage of State Question 780 in 2016, which made first-time charges for simple possession of any drugs, including heroin, a misdemeanor.

"Nobody is in prison for marijuana possession," McFerron said, contending that the state's legalization for medical purposes removed heavy penalties for possession.

McFerron stated his belief that the overwhelming rejection of SQ 820 was in response to how loose the state's cannabis laws have become. "I've asked numerous people to find me one person who has been denied a medical card."

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"Oklahoma ... said, 'Hey, we voted for medical, but that's not what we got.' We actually got recreational, and we wanted to protest and say, 'That's not what we want,'" McFerron said.

The Washington Examiner contacted Kiesel and other backers of SQ 820 for response.