In a major victory for the Oklahoma Christian community, the state has successfully pushed back against foreign gangs that had sought to infiltrate the local marijuana market. 

The campaign was led by a coalition of religious leaders and conservative groups, who had been working to keep marijuana out of Oklahoma, and rallied together to prevent what they saw as an invasion by outside forces.

In a report by Fox news, voters had enormously pushed down a proposal to legalise recreational marijuana last Tuesday by a margin of 61.7% to 38.3%, while the measure failed in each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. “Don’t California Our Oklahoma.”, a newspaper campaign had advocated against the legalisation. “The faith community, I believe, and of course, I’ve got an iron in the fire on this, but I believe the faith community was a major player in what happened here,” Paul Abner, president of Oklahoma Faith Leaders, said in a statement to Fox News.

Many Oklahoman Christians were concerned that the influx of drug gangs would lead to an increase in crime and violence in their communities. They also feared that cartels would bring in other illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, further destabilising the state. The Christian community mobilised quickly, launching a campaign called “Don’t California our Oklahoma” to raise awareness about the dangers of drug cartels and their influence on the marijuana industry. They also worked to pass legislation that would make it more difficult for outside groups to take over marijuana operations.

Their efforts paid off. Despite facing significant opposition from the drug gangs, the Christian community succeeded in protecting Oklahoma’s marijuana industry from foreign control. They celebrated their victory with a rally in downtown Oklahoma City, where speakers emphasised the importance of keeping the state’s values intact.

Abner, a member of a group representing six Christian denominations including Baptists, Catholics, and Nazarenes, said that the widest margin he had seen from pollsters before the vote was 3% and that “you can’t quantify” the impact the faith community has in the state. “They came out and let their voices be heard,” Abner said.

Sen. James Lankford, a Republican, told Fox News that the “decisive” defeat of the legislation of marijuana came when Christian families began asking themselves whether the substance will increase their living standard. “Are we better as a state if we have more families smoking marijuana? And they made the decision no,” Lankford said, adding that Oklahoma already has a “tremendous” amount of medical marijuana.

Brian Hobbs who is the communications director of Oklahoma Baptists which represents about 1,700 churches in Oklahoma, in a statement to Fox News said, “A lot of people in our faith community are like no, this is not helping our families, it’s making it worse.”

“These days, we sadly see many people turning to drugs, we see families affected by substance abuse,” “Instead of creating easy access to drugs, we want to show people that there is an abundant, joyful life awaiting them in Jesus Christ, if they will turn to him.”

While the battle may be over, the Christian community remains vigilant. They know that drug cartels are always looking for new opportunities to expand their operations, and they are determined to keep them out of Oklahoma.