Pubdate: Fri, 28 Aug 2015
Source: Tulsa World (OK)
Copyright: 2015 World Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.tulsaworld.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/463
Author: Barbara Hoberock

POT PETITION SIGNATURES TO BE SOUGHT SOON

Efforts to Legalize Medical Marijuana Move Ahead in State.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Supporters of an effort to legalize medical marijuana 
hope to begin gathering signatures in early September.

Last week, members of Green the Vote filed paperwork with the 
Oklahoma Secretary of State's office indicating their intent.

Following a protest period and a review of the ballot title, they 
hope to hit the streets, Isaac Caviness, president of Green the Vote, 
said Thursday. He said the organization is not anticipating a 
challenge to the petition.

Supporters expect to be gathering signatures by the first or second 
week of September, he said.

Green the Vote needs 123,725 signatures for the question to be seen 
by voters. The group wants to get the state question on the November 
2016 general election ballot.

Caviness said the response to the effort has been strong.

"The phones haven't quit ringing since Friday," he said. "We have had 
so many people reaching out, wanting to volunteer."

The paperwork was filed Friday.

Caviness said a good base of volunteers would be 100, but he believes 
the group will have upward of 300.

"We've been trying to get all those people organized into volunteer 
groups," he said.

He said his organization hoped to have at least 20 petition locations 
for people to sign. Garnering that amount doesn't appear to be a 
problem, he said.

"I think it could fly," said Keith Gaddie, a political science 
professor at the University of Oklahoma. "Part of the reason why is 
you would see tribal money flowing in to push it through."

Oklahomans for Health circulated a petition last year that fell 
significantly short of the number of signatures needed.

Chip Paul, chairman of Oklahomans for Health, said his organization 
will try again in the spring.

"We are far better organized," Paul said.

The organization should have gotten more signatures from the Oklahoma 
City area, he said, but it now understands what worked on the last 
effort and what did not.

"It took us a month to figure it out," Paul said. "We have a little 
better intel than we did last time."

Paul said he had not read the Green the Vote petition.

The Oklahoma Democratic Party has not taken a position on legalizing 
medical marijuana, said vice chair Connie Johnson.

But Johnson said she personally supports the effort, which is 
steadily gaining support and has tremendous support among 
millennials, the term for the first generation to become adults in 
the new millennium.

Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Randy Brogdon said he has not 
discussed the issue with party officials and he doubts it would wind 
up on the party platform anytime soon.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom