Regarding "Law an example of why more reform is needed" (Our Views, May 3): When it comes to preventing drug use, mass incarceration is a cure worse than the disease. The drug war is not the promoter of family values some would have us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Not only do the children lose out, but society as a whole does too. Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in criminal behavior. Prisons transmit violent habits rather than reduce them. Nonviolent drug offenders are eventually released, with dismal job prospects because of criminal records. [continues 82 words]
We applaud Gov. Mary Fallin's decision to sign legislation allowing a medical pilot program that uses a nonintoxicating derivative of marijuana - medicinal cannabis oil or CBD - to help children with seizure disorders. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, was carefully written to allow for tightly controlled investigational medical studies that can be conducted in a safe, responsible and scientific manner. "It is not marijuana, and it is not anything that can make you high," Fallin said. "This law has been narrowly crafted to support highly supervised medical trials for children with debilitating seizures." [continues 125 words]
OKLAHOMA'S three-strikes law for drug felony convictions, on the books since 1989, underscores the importance of policymakers occasionally reviewing state statutes to determine whether there's a better way to handle crime and punishment. The answer, generally, is yes. As Jennifer Palmer reported in today's Oklahoman, 54 state prison inmates are serving sentences of life without parole for drug violations. They were sentenced under the three-strikes law, which mandates a life sentence when two convictions for any drug felony are followed by a drug-trafficking conviction. [continues 529 words]
With State Prisons Over Capacity, Some Are Calling for Reversal of Harsh Law Kevin Ott drew his first strike when he was arrested for a small bag of methamphetamine in his pocket in 1993. A year later, authorities caught the self-described country boy from Okemah with marijuana plants growing at his home. That strike got him 15 months in prison. Still in his early 30's, Ott took strike three in 1996 when police found 3 1/2 ounces of meth in his home, enough for prosecutors to charge him with trafficking. His punishment: life without parole. [continues 3439 words]
While the picture is still blurry, legal marijuana could be coming to Indian country in Oklahoma. Such a possibility may seem far-fetched, but recent policy pronouncements by the U.S. Department of Justice are making the once unthinkable a real possibility. While marijuana is still illegal in all of its forms in Oklahoma, more than 20 states have legalized it for either medical or recreational use. Nonetheless, it is still illegal in all states under federal law to manufacture, distribute or dispense marijuana. [continues 514 words]
Regarding "Colorado defends pot laws against Oklahoma, Nebraska legal attack" (News, March 28): Aaron Cooper, a spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, has it backward in claiming that Colorado's legalization of cannabis has negatively impacted surrounding states like Oklahoma and Nebraska. Rather, cannabis prohibition is responsible for negatively impacting Oklahoma, Nebraska and the entire country. Further, they're unable to grasp what is taking place. Colorado government isn't promoting commercialized cannabis, but rather regulating the God-given plant. Oklahoma and Nebraska leaders fail to realize what they're actually doing is forcing the black market to regulate cannabis instead. While Oklahoma and Nebraska leaders may wish to force the black market to continue regulating cannabis, Colorado voters decided to force government to do the inevitable job instead. Recent polls indicate continued growing support for that decision. Polls also indicate Oklahoma and Nebraska citizens wish to end cannabis prohibition. Stan White, Dillon, Colo. [end]
THE debate over potential medical use of marijuana has generated legislative proposals this year that embody the best, and worst, of the political system. House Bill 2154, by Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, would allow Oklahoma children to participate in clinical trials for cannabidiol. That drug, otherwise referred to as CBD, is extracted from marijuana stalks and does not contain the chemical that creates marijuana's narcotic affect. There is reason to believe the drug could treat people who suffer seizures due to epilepsy. Echols said his own niece is among the children who suffer seizures that could be reduced through CBD use. [continues 432 words]
House OKs Limited Use We applaud the state House for voting 99-2 last week to legalize use of an active marijuana ingredient for the treatment of severe epileptic seizures in children. Earlier this year, Gov. Mary Fallin urged the state to legalize nonintoxicating medicinal cannabis oil - CBD - on a supervised basis for children suffering from severe seizure disorders. While CBD is derived from cannabis, Fallin has opposed any broader legalization of marijuana. We think that's a pretty good read of where the people of Oklahoma stand on the issue too. [continues 111 words]
Cannabidiol, Extracted From Marijuana, Is Used to Treat Severe Epileptic Seizures. OKLAHOMA CITY - The House of Representatives voted 99-2 Wednesday to legalize an active marijuana ingredient used in the treatment of severe epileptic seizures. The two "no" votes were by Republicans Scott Biggs of Chickasha and Mike Sanders of Kingfisher. House Bill 2154, by Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, would allow children to participate in clinical trials for cannabidiol, a substance extracted from marijuana stalks. Cannabidiol, or CBD, does not contain the chemical that creates marijuana's narcotic affect. [continues 190 words]
Some Oklahoma Legislators Are Against the AG's Decision to Join a Lawsuit Against Colorado. OKLAHOMA CITY - Some Oklahoma lawmakers disagree with Attorney General Scott Pruitt's decision to file suit over Colorado's legalization of marijuana. Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, said the lawsuit filed last month by Pruitt and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning undermines states' rights. In their lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Supreme Court, Pruitt and Bruning are asking that the Colorado law be deemed unconstitutional and tossed out, and they are asking the nation's highest court to force the federal government to enforce federal law prohibiting the sale of marijuana. They also seek to recover their legal costs for filing the suit. [continues 516 words]
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a vocal proponent of states' rights, drew criticism Monday from fellow Republicans who oppose his attempt to have the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Colorado's marijuana legalization law. State Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, and six other GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Pruitt criticizing his decision to join Nebraska in asking the high court to invalidate Colorado voters' 2012 determination to legalize marijuana for recreational use. They want him to remove Oklahoma from that legal fight, saying he should not meddle in the affairs of another state. [continues 545 words]
Although under federal law marijuana is a drug with no medical use and doctors can't prescribe it, 23 states and Washington, D.C., allow marijuana use for some medical conditions. In addition, Washington State and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana. Interstate travel by dealers and "drug tourists" increased the availability of marijuana in other states. Forty states reported seizure of Colorado medical and/or recreational marijuana. This caused serious problems in neighboring Oklahoma and Nebraska, which are suing Colorado in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking relief for this situation. The U.S. Justice Department ignores this problem. [continues 160 words]
Last week, Oklahoma and Nebraska sued Colorado over actions Colorado has taken that have resulted in the trafficking of illegal drugs into Oklahoma and Nebraska. We didn't take this action lightly. As you know, I have been an ardent defender of Oklahoma's ability to determine its own policies and laws, free from undue federal intrusion. But that isn't to say that there is no place for federal law. Of course there is - that is precisely why our Founders came together in 1789 to draft a constitution. My battles have been against federal actions that exceed the powers our Founders granted to the federal government in the constitution. [continues 578 words]
Oklahoma has filed a lawsuit against Colorado's marijuana law. The concern seems to be that marijuana from Colorado is coming to Oklahoma. That concerns me too. What can we do to reduce Colorado's market share? In fact, what can we do to reduce the market share for all imported and black market marijuana in Oklahoma? How can we keep the profits here and generate tax money to help Oklahoma? This used to be the problem with the tattoo business. Oklahomans were spending gasoline money and travel time going to other states for tattoos. [continues 119 words]
OKLAHOMA CITY - Despite getting the federal government's go-ahead to grow and sell marijuana, local tribes are showing little interest in expanding into the trade. If they did, says one expert in Native American affairs, it would raise a tangle of questions involving tribal and state law that are unique to Oklahoma. State leaders have outlawed marijuana - its growth, possession or use - - and violators face prison. But the 39 federally recognized tribes here have a way around that. A Justice Department memo published last week cites tribal sovereignty as grounds to allow the cultivation of marijuana on their land. [continues 501 words]
A leader of efforts to revise Oklahoma's marijuana laws says Attorney General Scott Pruitt's attempt to stop legal retail sales in Colorado is "ridiculous" and mischaracterizes that state's cannabis industry. Chip Paul, a Tulsa business owner and leader of Oklahomans for Health, said it would be impossible to accumulate more than a small quantity of marijuana through legal purchases in Colorado, and that licensed growers have too much at stake to sell on the black market. "It's just not possible," Paul said in a telephone interview. [continues 330 words]
Large Amounts of the Stronger Marijuana Are Arriving, Officials Say. Legal retail sales of marijuana in Colorado have had a definite if indirect impact on Oklahoma law enforcement agencies, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Board of Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Control said. "We are seeing collateral effects," said Mark Woodward. "It is a big deal because the marijuana coming out of Colorado is so much more powerful than what we've seen in the past." Woodward said the OBNDDC supports Attorney General Scott Pruitt's decision to join Nebraska's Jon Bruning in a suit to stop the commercial production and sale of marijuana in Colorado. [continues 699 words]
Oklahoma on Thursday joined with Nebraska in filing a lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to deem Colorado's recreational marijuana law unconstitutional. The states argue that Colorado's Amendment 64 runs counter to federal law, has created a dangerous gap in the federal drug control system and places an undue burden on neighboring states that have seen an increase in the amount of Colorado marijuana flooding across their borders. "Federal law classifies marijuana as an illegal drug," Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a written statement announcing the lawsuit. "The health and safety risks posed by marijuana, especially to children and teens, are well documented." [continues 439 words]
It may be awhile before Oklahomans will be able to light a joint while playing slots. The Department of Justice ruled Thursday that Indian tribes could grow and sell marijuana on tribal lands, but the ramifications of this action remain a mystery. "We don't know if tribes can legally sell it yet," Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Mark Woodward said. "We just don't know the answer." Woodward said it would take much more discussion and possibly a judge's ruling before the facts become less sticky when it comes to tribes selling pot in casinos. Using and selling marijuana remains illegal under state law. [continues 411 words]
Inside Oklahoma
