I have a hard time believing marijuana is a miracle cure. It has been around for centuries and a better case has been made for it being illegal.

It might well be a more convenient and cheaper way to relieve pain, just like alcohol and opiates. But is this a reason to legalize marijuana?

While a possible vote might be only to allow its usage for medical purposes, it is only a small step to allow for greater use. Just look at the western states.

We are succeeding in reducing tobacco usage, after decades of work. Do we really want to begin another challenge?

Chris Columbus, Tulsa

[end]

OKLAHOMA CITY - A second marijuana petition was filed Friday with the Oklahoma Secretary of State.

Supporters hope to let voters decide whether or not marijuana should be legal in Oklahoma.

Another petition currently circulating seeks to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Both require 155,216 signatures.

Organizers of the more expansive petition include Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Forest Park, Oklahoma City attorney David Slane and Republican gubernatorial candidate Chad Moody. Johnson is running for U.S. Senate.

Johnson said she tried for eight years to change the state's marijuana policies, to no avail.

[continues 312 words]

A group in favor of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes kicked off a petition drive Wednesday aimed at putting the issue before voters in the November statewide election.

"I'm here to say I believe Oklahomans have a strong sense of personal liberty and personal freedom, and that's what I want to appeal to," Chip Paul, chairman of Oklahomans for Health told about 50 people at a rally outside the state Capitol.

"There's thousands of Oklahomans who suffer every day with conditions which could be treated with medical marijuana, but they're not allowed to, they can't, because it's not available as a medicine, or they commit a felony by going out and treating their illness with a valid medicine."

[continues 342 words]

MARLOW - Just a few days before the biggest players in the state Republican Party came to Duncan for a fish fry fundraiser, State Senator Connie Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, arrived in Stephens County looking for support and campaign donations.

Without actually saying so, Johnson, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tom Coburn, realizes she's a longshot.

Speaking to 25 people who gathered at Bob's Restaurant on Thursday night for the regular monthly meeting of local Democrats, Johnson said unless she raises $100,000 for the campaign, the Democratic National Committee won't kick in any money for the general election.

[continues 340 words]

The U.S. Senate Candidate Says the Issue Will Draw New Voters to the Polls.

Legalizing marijuana may not be central to Connie Johnson's U.S. Senate platform, but it is important to her long-shot campaign's election strategy.

Long an advocate of decriminalizing marijuana, the Oklahoma state senator said at the Tulsa County Democratic Party's monthly luncheon that the issue gets people to the polls who don't otherwise vote - and those new voters are a potential boon for political candidates like her.

[continues 393 words]

Organizers Hope to Put Medical Marijuana on the November Ballot.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has found problems with the ballot title of an initiative petition seeking to let voters decide whether medical marijuana should be legalized.

On April 11, Oklahomans for Health gave notice to the secretary of state that the organization was seeking to circulate an initiative petition to get the issue on the November ballot.

The group needs 155,216 signatures to put its measure on the ballot.

[continues 347 words]

It swallowed people up. That's what it really did, if you want to know the truth. It swallowed them up whole, swallowed them up by the millions.

In the process, it hollowed out communities, broke families, stranded hope. Politicians brayed that they were being "tough on crime" - as if anyone is really in favor of crime - as they imposed ever longer and more inflexible sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. But the "War on Drugs" didn't hurt drugs at all: Usage rose by 2,800 percent - - that's not a typo - in the 40 years after it began in 1971. The "War" also made America the biggest jailer on Earth and drained a trillion dollars - still not a typo - from the treasury.

[continues 517 words]

WHEN it comes to tobacco and marijuana, public policies appear headed in contradictory directions.

For years, candy cigarettes have been criticized as providing children a gateway to tobacco smoking. In similar fashion, the federal government banned candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes in 2009 as part of an effort to reduce youth smoking.

Yet in Colorado, the legalization of marijuana has produced a rash of candy products infused with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in pot. THC products include everything from gummy bears to caramels. In some cases, a single piece of candy is the recommended dose, yet packages contain numerous pieces. Once opened, those products can easily be mistaken for traditional candies that are eaten in far larger quantities. It doesn't take a genius to see what comes next. Marshall Allen, writing for ProPublica, recently noted that some children in Colorado are being exposed to THC products. Dr. Andrew Monte, a medical toxicologist at the University of Colorado Medical School and Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, told Allen a poison control call occurs every few days involving a child accidentally eating marijuana products. Similar anecdotal reports are coming from emergency room doctors. In some cases, those children undergo CT scans and spinal taps before the patient's problem is identified.

[continues 361 words]

As the movement to legalize marijuana advances, I believe our state would be best served by a policy approach that does due diligence, and learns from the experiences of other states before considering legalization. This approach would give us insight into how legalization affects those states, and would be prudent in mitigating the uncertainty and risks associated with the legalization of a powerful drug. This is the conservative approach.

With the understanding that sweeping utopian reforms carry inevitable unintended consequences, conservatives always have taken a cautious approach to such policy shifts. We appreciate the central value of individual liberty, but we also understand that our founders believed we must balance liberty with an interest in maintaining civil order.

[continues 484 words]

OKLAHOMA CITY - Supporters of legalizing medical marijuana on Friday filed notice with the Secretary of State's Office that they are trying to get it on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Supporters have 90 days after filing the petition, or a determination by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to its sufficiency, whichever is later, to submit the signatures. They are required to obtain 155,216 signatures.

According to information provided by the Secretary of State's Office, the notice of intent to circulate the petition was filed by Oklahomans for Health and Charles "Chip" Paul of Tulsa. Paul is the co-owner of an electronic cigarette franchise company.

[continues 203 words]

OKLAHOMA CITY - Two candidates who plan to make legalization of marijuana their top priority have filed to run for governor in Oklahoma.

Forty-six-year-old Oklahoma City lawyer Chad Moody filed Thursday to run against incumbent Gov. Mary Fallin in the Republican primary.

Thirty-four-year-old Christian motorcyclist Joe Sills became entered the race as an independent candidate. Sills arrived wearing a leather jacket and backward camouflage hat when he came to the Capitol to file Thursday.

Both Moody and Sills say legalizing marijuana is their top priority.

Sills and Moody join Fallin, Democratic state Rep. Joe Dorman of Rush Springs and independent Richard Prawdzienski of Edmond in the race.

[end]

Report Shows Wide Gap Between Number Of Youth With Substance Abuse Problems And Those Receiving Treatment

CLAREMORE - When Daniel Morris saw a picture of a local drug bust in the news recently, something heartbreaking stood out to him about the people in the image: they looked so young.

"I said to myself, 'those are just kids and they're involved in something as serious as heroin distribution,'" Morris said. "These problems don't start at age 18; they start at 12 or 13."

[continues 502 words]

The Community Corrections Center Is Run by Avalon, Which Closed in Tulsa.

OKLAHOMA CITY - A surprise drug screening at a private Oklahoma City halfway house this week showed that more than half of the offenders were using illegal drugs.

The state Department of Corrections randomly tested 153 offenders Monday at the Carver Transitional Center, and 78 tested positive.

The community corrections center is operated by Avalon Correctional Services Inc., which also ran Avalon Tulsa, a Tulsa halfway house that was closed after there were allegations of organized inmate fights.

[continues 402 words]

TULSA - A Tulsa man who was fatally shot by police serving a search warrant Tuesday apparently was unarmed, police said Wednesday.

The Tulsa Police Department identified the man who was shot as 27year-old DeAndre Lloyd Starks, and the officer as Sgt. Mark Wollmershauser Jr., 32.

Wollmershauser, who has been on the police force nine years, was placed on routine paid administrative leave after the shooting.

Starks was one of five people inside the home at 239 E Young St. when police gang and narcotics officers entered to serve a drug-related search warrant at 5:22 p.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from Sgt. Dave Walker.

[continues 511 words]

"CPAC showed conservatives embracing justice reform" (Our Views, March 14) says more and more conservatives understand that corrections reform must happen. It quotes Rick Perry, Texas governor, where reforms resulted in closing a prison. As Perry put it, "We're not a soft-on-crime state. I hope we get the reputation of being a smart-on-crime state." The editorial closed by saying, "Perhaps Oklahoma will one day do the same."

All states have criminal laws controlling narcotics and dangerous drugs, producing large numbers of persons in prisons for drug offenses. Yet availability and use of these drugs continues to grow. Add prescription drugs coming through the same channels and we have the paradox that the War on Drugs has produced effects opposite to its stated purpose. Control now lies with international drug syndicates whose supply lines lead directly to Oklahoma.

[continues 119 words]

I'm writing about Tim Farley's story "Prohibition, not pot, is the problem" (Feb. 10, Oklahoma Gazette online).

I'd like to add that the cannabis legalization issue is not whether cannabis is completely safe for everybody, including children and adolescents.

It is not. The issue is freedom of choice for adults. Children have died from eating peanuts and peanut butter, but we don't cage peanut growers, sellers or consumers.

And the voters of Colorado and Washington state have decided that we should not cage cannabis growers, sellers or consumers.

Oklahoma adults have the freedom of choice of whether or not to consume legal alcohol. Shouldn't they have the same freedom of choice regarding legal cannabis?

- - Kirk Muse

Mesa, Arizona

[end]

Oklahoma City police Sgt. David Roberts noticed a driver swerve into oncoming traffic.

As he was pulling over the car, he saw the driver roll down all four windows. Out came clouds of smoke.

"I saw the smoke and smelled the odor of burnt marijuana," Roberts recalled. Once the driver stopped, Roberts walked up to the car and asked the driver, "Have you been smoking?"

The driver was honest: "Yes."

The driver went to jail on a complaint of driving under the influence of illegal drugs. He later was convicted, joining an increasing number of drivers getting in trouble for "driving high."

[continues 678 words]

Oklahoma Republican legislators, such as Sen. Dan Newberry of Tulsa, are rallying Republicans to support anti-cannabis legalization. They use divisive rhetoric such as calling supporters of cannabis legalization "liberals." As a Republican myself, I am curious: When did using legislation to allow government to trump the rights of individuals become conservative? When did refusing to hear bills because of personal beliefs become conservative? When did eroding liberties by advocating for the nanny state to micromanage our lives become conservative?

The misinformed public is an ally in the prohibition cause, but that demographic is shrinking. The demographic that concerns them though is the educated and well-informed one working together despite political labels. Ending prohibition is not a liberal-conservative battle. It is a fundamental right.

[continues 491 words]

Regarding "Seeking pot legalization, hundreds gather at rally" (News, Feb. 3): Mark Woodward, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, uses the original Prohibition to support perpetuating the sequel. The truth is that alcohol prohibition was an enormous failure on a national scale and now the failure of the sequel is even larger on an international scale. This is more than an inconvenient truth. It's a threat to law enforcement agencies whose payrolls depend in part on continuing one of the worst policy failures in American history. A sane or moral argument to continue caging responsible adults who use marijuana doesn't exist.

Stan White, Dillon, Colo.

[end]

Politicians Are Willing to Look at Alternatives to Prison Sentences.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Despite a recent pro-marijuana rally at the Oklahoma Capitol, there is little appetite in the conservative Oklahoma Legislature to join other states in legalizing cannabis, even for medicinal purposes.

Legislators from both sides of the aisle say that while attitudes may slowly be shifting toward loosening laws that prohibit Oklahomans from smoking pot, the idea isn't worth the potential political fallout in a state with a tough-on-crime reputation that predates statehood - especially during an election year.

[continues 738 words]