Pryor Times - Prohibition does not work.

This is the mantra of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Prohibition, which is circulating a petition to decriminalize medical marijuana.

The organization assisted another advocacy group who set up a petition table in Pryor last weekend.

"Our mission is to seek the improvement of quality of life of Oklahomans by seeking to end prohibition," the OKCAP website says. "In Oklahoma cannabis prohibition has adversely impacted the quality of lives of Oklahomans; their freedom, the state's agriculture, economic growth, family structure, employment opportunities, healthcare and generally many other aspects of normal life for a human being."

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STATE Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, hopes to become Oklahoma's next U.S. senator even as she's hitched her political wagon to the cause of marijuana legalization. We'll soon know if Johnson's fellow Democrats believe marijuana is the path to renewed electoral success in Oklahoma.

Supporters have begun gathering signatures to place the proposed State Question 773 on the ballot. The measure would legalize possession of one ounce of marijuana for personal use and legalize possession of three ounces for "medical" use.

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The establishment of a petition-signing effort for the legalization of medical marijuana has produced a buzz around Ardmore ... both good and bad.

Oklahomans for Health began gathering signatures for the petition Saturday morning in the parking lot of the Ardmore Public Library. While several hundred have taken the time to sign the petition, other residents have been concerned about the group's right to have the petition on city property.

Jennifer O'Steen, Ardmore city attorney, said the city had received a couple of calls, and the group is not in violation.

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TULSA - Supporters of an initiative petition to put a medical marijuana state question to a November vote said Thursday they are experiencing increased interference from authorities statewide.

The Tulsa World reported Tuesday allegations by Chip Paul, chairman of Oklahomans for Health, that Tulsa police disrupted petition-circulation efforts at locations that were predisclosed online four times last week.

Thursday, Oklahomans for Health said the disruptions have become more frequent and widespread, with law enforcement officers reportedly harassing volunteers in three other cities - Oklahoma City, Broken Arrow and Norman - on Wednesday.

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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

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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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

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