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]
They're Standing Firm Despite State's Growing Prison Population OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Despite last week's largest pro marijuana rally at the Oklahoma Capitol in recent history, 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, especially during an election year. [continues 238 words]
As a longtime fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman's work, I view the widespread reactions of grief over his death with a mixture of appreciation and dread. As a fan, I appreciate the recognition that this Oscar-winning actor's astounding talents richly deserved. But I also brace myself for the sort of anger-driven, self-defeating, lock-'em-up anti-drug crusades that too often have followed shocking drug-related celebrity deaths. Such high-profile tragedies as the 1970 drug-related deaths of rock stars Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, for example, helped fuel the Nixon administration's "war on drugs" and numerous "zero tolerance" state drug laws that filled prisons with long sentences for nonviolent offenders. [continues 564 words]
Patients, Others Attend Rally and Hearing OKLAHOMA CITY - Colleen Stice has a 13-monthold son who, at times, suffers hundreds of seizures a day. Her son, Rowan, was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy when he was 6 months old and hasn't gained a pound since he started taking medication, Stice said. "He's developmentally behind because of the medication and the state it puts him in," said Stice, of Tulsa. "I feel terrible ... Either I let the seizures kill his brain, or I let the medicine do it." [continues 780 words]
Hundreds of people rallied at the state Capitol on Wednesday to ask the Legislature to rethink how Oklahoma regulates marijuana for both medicinal and recreational purposes. Supporters gathered for speeches in front of the Capitol, piled into conference rooms and packed the Senate gallery, voicing concerns over what many called the over-criminalization of the drug and the necessity for its use as a medicine. Ron Ferrell, 63, of Oklahoma City, was among those who were actively lobbying their lawmakers on the issue. Ferrell said, regardless of Oklahoma's reputation as being behind the times socially, he feels the momentum of the medical marijuana movement will eventually take hold in the state. [continues 607 words]
By the time my 5-year-old daughter leaves for college, it's quite likely that marijuana use will be broadly decriminalized. Alaska has become the most recent state to move toward legalization, placing an initiative on the ballot for an August vote. If it passes, Alaska would join Washington and Colorado, which have already made recreational use legal for adults. The trend will probably continue, since 52 percent of Americans support legalization, according to the Pew Research Center. That's good news - and not because I want my daughter to indulge. [continues 622 words]
Regarding "New pot laws don't reflect liberal ascendancy in U.S." (Our Views, Feb. 3): A growing majority of Americans now support marijuana legalization. This is a bipartisan issue. The punitive nanny state has proven itself to be a failure. Surely Republicans who loathe big government can see this. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. [continues 108 words]
At least, so say many proponents of legalizing marijuana Keeping marijuana an illegal substance does nothing more than help drug dealers recruit children into a culture that takes advantage of them and their vulnerability, a former undercover narcotics agent said. Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), spent 34 years with the Maryland State Police working primarily in drug investigations. Franklin spoke earlier this month at a University of Oklahoma conference entitled, "The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration: Myths and Realities." [continues 1181 words]
During her time in office, Sen. Constance Johnson has proposed a number of bills aimed at easing Oklahoma's strict marijuana laws, and this year is no different. Senate Bill 2116, proposed by Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, would legalize a small amount of "personal use" marijuana -- up to an ounce -- as well as set up rules for the sale and growth of the product. Although 20 states now have legalized marijuana for medical use, Johnson's bill is unlikely to pass. [continues 428 words]
Law Enforcement Hasn't Seen the Over-The-Border Deluge They're Expecting. BOISE CITY - A month after recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado, the flood of Rocky Mountain weed law enforcement officials predicted would come across the border into Oklahoma doesn't appear to have materialized. At least, not yet. About 53 percent of Colorado voters in November 2012 voted to repeal the state's ban on recreational marijuana. That change went into effect at the beginning of January. The new law allows anyone older than 21 to buy small amounts of marijuana from dispensaries in the state. Colorado residents may buy up to an ounce of marijuana in one transaction, while outof-state residents are limited to a quarter ounce. [continues 479 words]
IN a recent Washington Post column, Democratic strategist Steve Rosenthal argued the United States electorate has become leftleaning, citing things such as changing attitudes about marijuana. "It is more than an interesting observation that America now leans left," Rosenthal thundered. "This should be a guiding light for politicians. With the knowledge that most Americans are, in fact, behind them, Democrats no longer need to fear running on their beliefs." Apparently, Democrats who actually have to run for statewide office don't share Rosenthal's certainty, particularly on marijuana. In Colorado, where voters have legalized adult recreational use of marijuana, Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper is openly hostile to that effort. [continues 449 words]
BOISE CITY - A month after recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado, the flood of Rocky Mountain weed law enforcement officials predicted would come across the border into Oklahoma doesn't appear to have materialized. At least, not yet. About 53 percent of Colorado voters in November 2012 voted to repeal the state's ban on recreational marijuana. That change went into effect at the beginning of January. The new law allows anyone older than 21 to buy small amounts of marijuana from dispensaries in the state. Colorado residents may buy up to an ounce of marijuana in one transaction, while out-of-state residents are limited to a quarter ounce. [continues 479 words]
Smoke a joint on your porch in Denver and you face no legal consequence. Get caught doing it twice in Oklahoma City and the law says you could go to prison for up to 10 years. Oklahoma has some of the strictest marijuana-possession laws in the nation, but the reality is few people convicted only of possession find themselves serving time, law enforcement officials, prosecutors and defense attorneys say. "There are a lot of people who surely believe prisons are full of marijuana possession cases," Oklahoma County Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland said. "It's not true. What's true, instead, is you have to work very hard to go to prison on drug possession cases in Oklahoma, period." [continues 1377 words]
Reading "Oklahoma legislator's bill aims to legalize pot" (News, Jan. 26), I wasn't surprised that officials opposing a bill to legalize and tax marijuana were law enforcement, not the health sector. Naturally, Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel doesn't want marijuana legalized. He's paid to house city and state prisoners, many on marijuana charges. Add the loss of federal grants and it would take a very big man to say otherwise. No surprise, either, that the head of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs doesn't want to lose manpower and turf. [continues 129 words]
During her time in office, Sen. Constance Johnson has proposed a number of bills aimed at easing Oklahoma's strict marijuana laws, and this year is no different. Senate Bill 2116, proposed by Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, would legalize a small amount of "personal use" marijuana - up to an ounce - - as well as set up rules for the sale and growth of the product. Although 20 states now have legalized marijuana for medical use, Johnson's bill is unlikely to pass. [continues 429 words]
OKLAHOMA CITY - State Sen. Connie Johnson has introduced a bill that would regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol in Oklahoma. Senate Bill 2116 would make the personal use, possession and limited home-cultivation of marijuana legal for adults age 21 and older, and establish a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol. National polls have shown a steady increase in support for taxing and regulating adult use of marijuana in recent years, with a majority of Americans now consistently supporting an end to its prohibition. [continues 333 words]
"What's that smell?" a 10-year-old girl asked her mother as they walked toward a Colorado rec center. That question launched the first of what probably will be many conversations that mother will have with her daughter about marijuana, now legal in Colorado. The mother began to research what was being written about how to talk to kids about pot, and she found very little material, presumably because adults are still figuring it out. She did find one article, written by Suzanne S. Brown in the Denver Post, that addressed some of the questions teens are asking about pot. Here are some excerpts: [continues 315 words]
It is said that Mother Nature is no fool. She created the marijuana plant, just like she created the coca plant (cocaine) and opium poppy (morphine). But, then again, Mother Nature created tonsils. On Nov. 6, 2012, the states of Colorado and Washington legalized the recreational use of marijuana, thus taking the great marijuana debate to another level. Prior to that, medicinal use was the discussion of the day. But make no mistake, the transition from medical to recreational was carefully orchestrated years ago by marijuana advocates. By that I mean the transition has come full circle. When marijuana proponents realized long ago that the country was not yet liberal enough to gain any traction on their bandwagon to legalize, they quickly adopted the medicinal angle, playing the humanity card with the notion that once medical use was accepted, then legislating recreational use was just a nine-iron away. [continues 546 words]
State Sen. Constance Johnson has filed a bill to legalize marijuana in Oklahoma and place its regulation under the control of the state Health Department. "I think with our current system of laws and punishments for simple possession, we are burying ourselves into a pit where the costs are unsustainable," said Johnson, who has made several unsuccessful past attempts to liberalize Oklahoma's marijuana laws. Johnson said she believes unnecessarily harsh laws have ruined young people's lives, and that decriminalizing marijuana would reduce gang activity and violence. [continues 666 words]
Mallory Johnson had lost count of how many times her daughter was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance or helicopter, her tiny body convulsed with seizures. Desperate to find a treatment that would work for Zoey, Johnson's odyssey took her through a winding trail of doctors in Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona. When Zoey was 3, Johnson learned her daughter had Dravet syndrome. The seizure disorder is so rare - striking about one in 40,000 children - that one doctor told her: "Google it." [continues 1237 words]
Smoking Marlboros is now forbidden in Irish bars in New York City. But buying, selling, and smoking marijuana is legal in Colorado. It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. But where are we going? One certain result of the legalization of marijuana is that there are going to be more potheads, more dropouts, and more deaths on highways from those high or stoned - and more rehab centers. Coloradans may relish the freedom they have voted for themselves. But the costs will be borne by society and the families of future victims of potheads behind the wheel. [continues 629 words]
The costly, counterproductive war on drugs has turned the United States into incarceration nation. According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, 716 of every 100,000 people in this country are locked up, by far the highest rate in the world, well ahead of such beacons of freedom as Rwanda, Cuba and Russia. The arrest of Norman Gurley two weeks ago by the Ohio Highway Patrol perfectly illustrates the tyranny of the drug war and the threat it poses to the rights of law-abiding citizens. As reported by reason.com, Mr. Gurley was charged with having a secret compartment in his vehicle - even though the compartment was empty. [continues 245 words]
Del City Police Capt. Randy Trent Harrison shot Dane Scott Jr. in the back March 14, 2012, after a high-speed chase that began when Harrison tried to pull over Scott's car Harrison had previously arrested Scott on drug violations, and prosecutors said his pursuit of the teenager crossed the line from professional to personal. The defense portrayed Scott as a drug dealer and said Harrison believed that the teenager was reaching for a second weapon after the officer took one gun from him during a scuffle that followed the chase. [continues 462 words]
Regarding Ronald Fraser's "Holder's wise choice on fighting marijuana" (Point of View, Oct. 19): The drug war is largely a war on marijuana. In 2011, there were 757,969 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The result is not lower rates of use. [continues 91 words]
Regarding "Woman fights to change hemp laws" (News, Oct. 13): As a retired detective, I support the work and views of marijuana legalization activist Norma Sapp. I can attest to the reduction in public safety, as my colleagues spend large amounts of time chasing a green plant, while pedophiles in chat rooms aren't being arrested. As bad, or worse, teens in Oklahoma are shot and killed every year because of marijuana prohibition. How? Hundreds of teens in Oklahoma choose to sell marijuana - not alcohol, not cigarettes - and some will be shot and killed every year. We need to legalize/regulate and tax marijuana now. Howard Wooldridge, Dallas, Texas Wooldridge is co-founder of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition). [end]
It's A Losing Battle U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, commander in chief of Washington's failed war on drugs, recently issued what looks a lot like a domestic version of Vermont Sen. George Aiken's famous 1966 face-saving formula for exiting from America's lost war in Vietnam: Declare victory and get out. After more than 58,000 U.S. deaths, that's exactly what we did. And now a timely American Civil Liberties Union report, titled "The War on Marijuana in Black and White," explains why Holder's similar announcement is especially good news for blacks nationwide and in Oklahoma. [continues 404 words]
LITTLE AXE - Few Oklahomans could rival Norma Sapp's efforts to legalize marijuana. She drove a motor home across the United States, serving as the support vehicle for a friend who was riding his one-eyed paint horse, Misty, across the country to raise awareness of a message: "Cops say legalize marijuana, ask me why." She has walked the marble hallways of the state Capitol more times than she can remember to advocate for changes in Oklahoma's marijuana laws. And she ran for a state House office in the 1990s - and quickly learned she didn't want it. [continues 1004 words]
Regarding Leonard Pitts' "Maybe nation is ready to end 'war'" (Commentary, Aug. 16): The drug war is part of the problem. Illegal drug users are reluctant to seek medical attention in the event of an overdose for fear of being charged with a crime. Attempting to save the life of a friend could result in a murder charge. Overzealous drug war enforcement results in preventable deaths. Rehabilitation also is confounded. I think it's safe to say that turnout at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings would be rather low if alcoholism were a crime pursued with zero tolerance zeal. Eliminating the penalties associated with illicit drug use would encourage the type of honest discussion necessary to facilitate rehabilitation and save lives. Robert Sharpe, Arlington, Va. Sharpe is a policy analyst at Common Sense for Drug Policy, in Washington, D.C. [end]
It's been a war on justice, an assault on equal protection under the law. And a war on families, removing millions of fathers from millions of homes. And a war on money, spilling it like water. And a war on people of color, targeting them with drone strike efficiency. We never call it any of those things, though all of them fit. No, we call it the War on Drugs. It is a 42-year, trilliondollar disaster that has done nothing - underscore that: absolutely nothing - to stem the inexhaustible supply of, and insatiable demand for, illegal narcotics. In the process, it has rendered this "land of the free" the biggest jailer on Earth. [continues 521 words]
IN his call to change the way mandatory-minimum sentences are used in federal drug cases, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said this: "We need to ensure that incarceration is used to punish, deter and rehabilitate - not merely to convict, warehouse and forget." Oklahoma lawmakers should take heed. Holder is taking a reasonable approach to try to alleviate overcrowding in the federal system. He wants to give judges more of a say in how long to incarcerate nonviolent offenders who commit drug-related crimes. Now, judges' discretion is limited by mandatory-minimum sentences that grew out of President Ronald Reagan's "war on drugs" in the 1980s. [continues 512 words]
His Drug Task Force Took Money From Travelers on I-40 but Did Not Make Arrests. HINTON - A district attorney is returning funds in three more cases where his drug task force took money from travelers on Interstate 40 Two of the three cases involved stops where money was seized but no one was arrested. A total of $21,227 is being returned in the three cases. "I was really, really very scared," said Julius S. Crooks, 28, who is getting back $7,500 and a semi-automatic rifle. [continues 769 words]
Oklahoma has taken a giant step backward with regard to marijuana. Thanks to a new law, starting this fall anybody who drives in Oklahoma within 30 days after consuming marijuana will be "driving under the influence" as a matter of law. One of the authors of this new law (House Bill 1441) was unaware that marijuana is a Schedule I drug and was therefore unaware of the consequences of his legislation. Nonetheless, I remain optimistic that marijuana will soon be legal in Oklahoma. [continues 54 words]
Are Americans becoming more libertarian on cultural issues? I see evidence that they are, in poll findings and election results on three unrelated issues - marijuana legalization, same-sex marriage and gun rights. Start with pot. Last November, voters in the states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize marijuana, by a 55-45 percent margin in Colorado and by 56-44 percent in Washington. In contrast, California voters rejected legalization 53-47 percent in 2010. These results and poll data suggest a general movement toward legal marijuana. [continues 560 words]
Tulsa attorney Sabah Khalaf advertises his opposition to marijuana laws on a brightly colored van that is decorated with pot leaves. The yellow 1975 Volkswagen van, which has been parked in downtown Tulsa parking lots in recent weeks, acts as a rolling invitation for those accused of marijuana crimes to call Khalaf if they find their hobby has gotten them in trouble with the law. However, it also acts as a sort of high-mileage political statement. "I am not afraid to stand up for what I believe," he said. [continues 632 words]
WHILE the debate over state efforts to nullify federal laws has often focused on Obamacare, both liberal and conservative individuals have promoted nullification. The Pew Charitable Trusts notes 13 states are openly defying federal drug law by allowing medical marijuana, plus Colorado and Washington have legalized the drug for straight-up recreational use. So liberals who loudly decry Obamacare nullification efforts are silent on this front. Yet if attempts to nullify Obamacare through state action are illegitimate - or even racist, as liberal critics claim - isn't the same thing true of efforts to negate federal drug law? [continues 465 words]
Editor, The Transcript: Regarding your Feb. 27 editorial, while there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy and it helps them feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality of life decision best left to patients and their doctors. Drug warriors waging war on non-corporate drugs contend that organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. Their prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors should not be dictating healthcare decisions. It's long past time to let doctors decide what is right for their patients; sick patients should not be jailed for daring to seek relief from marijuana. ROBERT SHARPE MPA policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
Change, they say, is usually incremental. Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, has been trying for the past six years to get her colleagues in the Oklahoma legislature to at least hold a hearing on her medical marijuana bill. That hearing finally came this week. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee defeated a proposal to legalize the medical use of marijuana. The legislation would have allowed a qualified patient or designated caregiver to possess up to eight ounces of dried marijuana and 12 plants. [continues 96 words]
Committee Votes 6-2 Against Legalization OKLAHOMA CITY - A Senate committee on Monday defeated a proposal to legalize the medical use of marijuana in Oklahoma, but the bill's author said she considers it a victory that the measure was even granted a legislative hearing. Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 6-2 against the measure in a party-line vote with Republicans in opposition. "I consider it a victory for the citizens of this state," said Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, who has introduced several bills over the last six years to allow for the medical use of marijuana or ease the penalties for possession of the drug. "I think it's a step in the right direction in terms of moving it forward and getting some indication of what people's reservations are so we'll know what to address." The bill would have allowed a qualified patient or designated caregiver to possess up to 8 ounces of dried marijuana and 12 plants. [end]
A measure that would no longer make second and subsequent charges of possessing marijuana a felony in Oklahoma remains alive, despite skepticism from several members on a legislative committee. "I believe that while our constituents don't support us coming down here and legalizing it, I do believe that they support us being smart on crime," said Rep. Cory Williams, author of House Bill 1835. "We're not being soft on it; we're not legalizing it." Williams, D-Stillwater, agreed Wednesday to stop a committee hearing on his measure so he could do more work on it, in particular, coming up with a maximum number of charges in which a simple marijuana possession could result in a felony. [continues 397 words]
Four years ago, Michelle Obama picked up a shovel and made a powerful symbolic statement about America's food and farm future: She turned a patch of White House lawn into a working organic garden. That was a great move, earning kudos from just about everyone this side of Monsanto and the pesticide lobby. But now, as she begins another four years in the people's mansion, the first lady is probably asking herself: "How can I top that? What can I do this time around to plant a crop of common sense in our country's political soil that will link America's farmers, consumers, environment and grassroots economy into one big harvest of common good?" [continues 614 words]
State Sen. Constance Johnson continues her fight to allow medical marijuana use in Oklahoma. The Forest Park Democrat has again filed legislation seeking to adopt rules allowing medical marijuana use in the state. This is not her first attempt. Sen. Johnson's never got a committee hearing this past year. Her plan would direct the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to develop rules that allow physicians to prescribe marijuana for patients with debilitating medical conditions. She also proposes developing rules for licensing, production, distribution and consumption of marijuana. The Senate's chair of Health and Human Service Committee declined a hearing request last year, saying it was a federal issue. [continues 71 words]
A legislator who couldn't get an interim study last fall on the benefits of medical marijuana has filed two measures to ease the state's tough marijuana laws. Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Forest Park, has filed separate bills to establish a medical marijuana program in Oklahoma and to reduce the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Senate Bill 902 would direct the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to develop and adopt rules that allow people with debilitating medical conditions to use marijuana with approval from their physicians and to establish fees for the "licensing, production, distribution and consumption" of marijuana for medical purposes. [continues 97 words]
The war on marijuana is going up in smoke, and it's about time. There is no bigger waste of money and resources in all law enforcement. Failure is too polite a description for the long campaign to eliminate the pot trade in the United States. A colossal flop is what it is. After four decades and billions spent, marijuana is easier to get, and more potent, than ever. More than 40 percent of all Americans over 12 have tried it, and at least 30 million people smoke it every year. The most recent national drug survey found that 18.1 million Americans had used it during the previous month. [continues 725 words]
Michelle Alexander is a law professor at Ohio State University who has recently written a book titled "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness." In that work she argues that the national "War on Drugs" has resulted in many African American and Latino men being subject to discrimination of the type that is similar to the unequal treatment African Americans received when legal segregation was the law of the land in most of the states in the South. [continues 453 words]
KINGFISHER - The four reasons Patricia Spottedcrow most wanted out of prison were back in her arms Thursday afternoon, after their mother was released on parole. Her children are 11, 6, 5 and 3 years old now. The youngest was just 1 when Spottedcrow began her prison sentence two years ago. If Gov. Mary Fallin hadn't approved Spottedcrow's parole and if the Pardon and Parole Board hadn't agreed to early consideration for her case, her children might have all been teenagers by the time she got out. [continues 631 words]
The voters of Colorado and Washington have made it clear the federal government can no longer get away with confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a failure. The United States has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. It's time to stop the arrests and end marijuana prohibition. Robert Sharpe, Arlington, Va. Sharpe is policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy in Washington, D.C.(www.csdp.org). [end]
print State's marijuana advocates will have to wait to be heard Marijuana advocates will have to wait another year to try to get their discussion in front of Oklahoma legislators after a committee chairman announced this week he would not schedule the interim study. Following Arkansas' near passing of medical marijuana on Nov. 6, Oklahoma marijuana advocates - including the leader of the Tulsa branch of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws - were in high hopes of getting an interim study approved to discuss bills put forward by state Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, aiming at legalizing marijuana for medicinal use. [continues 804 words]
Oklahoma00
