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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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"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:

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