Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jul 2014
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2014 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact: http://www.newsok.com/voices/guidelines
Website: http://newsok.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Page: 8A

SENATE RUNOFF MAY SHOW HOW VOTERS FEEL ABOUT POT PROPOSAL

STATE Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, hopes to become
Oklahoma's next U.S. senator even as she's hitched her political wagon
to the cause of marijuana legalization. We'll soon know if Johnson's
fellow Democrats believe marijuana is the path to renewed electoral
success in Oklahoma.

Supporters have begun gathering signatures to place the proposed State
Question 773 on the ballot. The measure would legalize possession of
one ounce of marijuana for personal use and legalize possession of
three ounces for "medical" use.

It's actually the second marijuana petition underway. Another one,
launched by Oklahomans for Health, would legalize marijuana for
supposed medical use (although it defines "medical" quite liberally).
However, that proposal doesn't seek forthright legalization of
marijuana for recreational purposes. Thus, Johnson's effort is the
most ambitious underway in Oklahoma when it comes to drug
legalization.

Under the proposed constitutional amendment touted by Johnson,
Oklahomans age 21 and older could legally purchase an ounce of
marijuana and possess up to six marijuana plants. The quantity
increases to three ounces if the pot is to be used as a form of medicine.

But taken as a whole, the provisions of Johnson's proposal appear
little more than a hodgepodge of legalization concepts, thrown
together without focus or cohesion, generating somewhat contradictory
messages.

The proposal calls for taxing recreational marijuana at $7 per ounce,
but the tax on sales of medical marijuana would be 7 percent. In
Colorado, where marijuana has been legalized, the drug currently sells
for $198 to $340 per ounce, according to Time magazine. An April
posting on FiveThirtyEight.com (an analytical website) determined the
median sticker price for an ounce of recreational marijuana in Denver
was $200.

If the $200 pricing is duplicated in Oklahoma, then under Johnson's
proposal an Oklahoma user of medical marijuana would pay a tax of
roughly $14 an ounce, while a recreational user would pay just $7. So
her proposal includes a financial incentive for people to be
recreational users, not medical.

At the same time, the proposal does not require a prescription for
"medical" use of marijuana. Under the petition plan, a license
allowing medical use of marijuana must be issued to anyone over 18 who
can get an Oklahoma board-certified physician to sign an application
certifying that the applicant has a qualifying medical condition.
That's a lifetime license that remains valid even if the qualifying
medical condition goes away, which is likely since qualifying
conditions include such things as headaches and PMS.

At their core, those provisions allow lifetime recreational marijuana
use under the guise of medical treatment. Yet for some reason, the
petition provides for two different tax treatments even when both sets
of marijuana sales may be for identical purposes.

If approved by voters, Johnson's proposal also requires that the new
law be applied retroactively to all marijuana cases pending in any
Oklahoma court. In short, it would literally provide a "get out of
jail free" card to many current drug offenders. The proposal also
includes provisions that earmark marijuana taxes for public education
and health needs - apparently assuming it never hurts to claim that
your cause "benefits" schools.

On Aug. 26, Johnson will face perennial candidate Jim Rogers in the
Democratic runoff election for the Senate seat being vacated by
incumbent Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee. Like so much about the drug
legalization movement, Johnson's proposal appears (forgive the
phrase), half-baked. We'll know on Aug. 26 if Democratic voters agree.
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MAP posted-by: Matt