Pubdate: Tue, 09 May 2006
Source: Norman Transcript (OK)
Copyright: 2006 The Norman Transcript
Contact:  http://www.normantranscript.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/552
Author: Randall Turk
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

JAIL STILL APPROACHES STATE-ENFORCED CAPACITY

NORML Official Says Legalizing Pot For Medication Could Ease Load

County jail crowding, a situation being monitored by the state health 
department, has persisted over the past month, Cleveland County 
commissioners were told Monday.

A jail report indicates an average population of 167 in the County 
Detention Center last week is dangerously near the maximum 177 the 
state says the jail can safely hold. Exceeding the jail limit could 
result in hefty fines levied against the county, commissioners were 
recently warned.

Former Norman Assistant Police Chief Neil Vickers, hired as a 
temporary consultant to expedite turnover in the jail, said he is 
working with county judges and the district attorney to speed court 
appearances, release low risk inmates without bonds and obtain 
electronic monitoring for others, pending court dates.

In April, three inmates jailed in lieu of fines and restitution were 
released on their own recognizance and another two were turned out to 
be monitored by electronic devices until their court appearances, Vickers said.

The jail burden could be lessened further if other states' medical 
marijuana laws were honored here, a woman said Monday. Norma Sapp, 
state director of the National Organizatin for Reform of Marijuana 
Laws (NORML) said 11 other states now have laws permitting the 
documented use of marijuana for medical purposes. She said she is 
seeking support from county commissioners throughout the state for 
revising Oklahoma's marijuana laws.

Sapp said NORML seeks to prevent the arrest of state visitors who 
carry medical cards certifying them to use marijuana as medication 
for health problems. Oklahoma needs to consider honoring other 
states' medical marijuana laws and avoid jailing those who 
legitimately use the drug, she said. "It costs the county money to 
jail these people."

In his weekly report to the commissioners Monday, Vickers said 189 
prisoners were in county custody during the week of April 27-May 3, 
including 20 prisoners a day kept in the Pottawatomie County Jail. 
Cleveland County's jail headcount averaged a high of 171 on April 30 
and 173 on May 2, Vickers' report indicates. The jail had a low of 
158 inmates on April 27. The jail tally throughout April averaged 
159, in addition to the 20 in the Pottawatomie County Jail in Ada.

Sapp said her campaign to gain state acceptance of the use of 
marijuana for medical treatment began last week when she learned a 
mother and daughter passing through Oklahoma had been jailed in 
Beckham County for possessing a quantity of cannabis leaves.

Sapp said the older woman, like many others using marijuana as 
medication, could not tolerate the effects of the drug in its capsule 
form. "She had a California medical card authorizing her to use 
marijuana for a back condition," Sapp said. The woman and her 
daughter, "who didn't even smoke marijuana," made a plea agreement on 
a charge of intent to distribute marijuana and are now serving a 
90-day jail term, Sapp said.

Cleveland County Attorney Tim Kuykendall, present at the 
commissioners' meeting, said the NORML request to commissioners is 
misdirected. "Your comments would be better addressed to the 
Legislature," Kuykendall advised Sapp. "County commissioners are not 
in the position to change state laws."

In other matters Monday, the commissioners:

Awarded a bid for $21,690 to Horton Transfer -- Storage of Oklahoma 
City to move the county administrative departments back to the County 
Office Building once its renovation is completed. No precise date has 
been scheduled for the move.

Awarded one-year open-ended bids to various vendors for county 
highway and bridge materials, tires and tubes, and office supplies, 
furniture and equipment.

Awarded a one-year $9,500 bid to Dimensional Concepts, Inc. for 
database management service for the sheriff's department.

The next meeting of the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners is 
scheduled at 9 a.m. May 15 in the County Fairgrounds Building, 605 E. 
Robinson St.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman