Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

[heironymouspasparagus]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/elections/we-ask-the-governor-candidates-what-are-your-views-on/article_ec4af3fa-ff06-50ad-947c-8302120f2ddd.html

And of course, as would be expected, all the main Republicontin candidates are lying about SQ788 and what it does or does not contain.  They obviously have not read the text of the question (link provided below) and are simply parroting the BS and lies that they are getting from someone's talking point list.  Notice how they all sound pretty much the same?

They are lying that anyone and everyone will just randomly walk down the street, find some pseudo-Doctor to give them a 'note for teacher' and then go about their merry way, stoned all day long.  Except for the reality - the SQ specifically says, Oklahoma Board Certified Physician.  If they don't trust Oklahoma Board Certified Physicians, then why haven't they done something to fix THAT problem sometime in the intervening years when THEY have been in control.??   Answer for the feeble minded amongst us - there IS NO inherent problem with Oklahoma Board Certified Physicians.   It is with the legislature, the governor, and the Republican candidates.

And once again, trying as hard as they can to get between a person's Doctor and the patient.  As usual.


https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/questions/788.pdf

[patric]

And of course, as would be expected, all the main Republicontin candidates are lying about SQ788 and what it does or does not contain.  They obviously have not read the text of the question (link provided below) and are simply parroting the BS and lies that they are getting from someone's talking point list.  Notice how they all sound pretty much the same?

If you want campaign money from pharmaceutical companies you have to be able to recite the script.
Anheuser-Busch InBev pumped millions into police unions and churches believing medical marijuana would hurt their sales, and I dont think any of those recipients told Bud to check their facts.

Sometimes just the tried-and-true propaganda is sufficient, like the outdated "gateway drug" phrase our current DA still uses.

[patric]

Sheriff Scott Walton held a "vote no" forum on medical marijuana.  It got physical.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/video-medical-marijuana-advocate-forcefully-removed-from-public-forum-by/article_e34d4fb0-c89f-54c1-8767-2fc1314a82c2.html




The co-founder of the organization that successfully petitioned to add medical marijuana to next week's primary ballot was forcefully removed from a public forum Monday evening by the Rogers County sheriff.

Chip Paul — co-founder and chairman of Oklahomans for Health, the group responsible for State Question 788 — was attending a forum about medical marijuana at the Claremore Conference Center when he was marched out of the facility by Sheriff Scott Walton.

According to Paul's version of events, he and his wife arrived at the forum late and found seats in the back. Two sheriff's deputies were standing behind them, and at one point, Paul said he shook the hand of one and briefly chatted with him.

Later on, Paul said, he quietly expressed frustration with some of the information being presented. At that point, according to Paul, Walton confronted him.

"He grabbed me and was in my face, saying, 'If this is frustrating, you can get out,'" Paul said.

Paul said he replied that he would remain quiet. "That's when (Walton) grabbed me by the neck and proceeded to escort me from the building. He rammed my head into a door — I don't know if that was purposeful or not."

Video of the altercation shows Walton leading Paul out of the facility with both hands around his neck. As Paul is directed through a set of double doors, it appears that his forehead is pushed into one of them.

"I feel like, in my mind, he assaulted me," Paul said. "I was doing nothing. I have as much right to be there as he does."

Walton rebutted Paul's version of the night. He said a large group of SQ 788 supporters were rowdy and "disruptive to the speakers."

He said multiple announcements were made indicating there would be time for questions and discussion at the end of the forum, announcements he said were ignored by SQ 788 advocates.

"I'm not regretful for my actions there," Walton said. "We were to the point that there was consideration of just pulling the plug on the whole meeting."

Walton said Paul repeatedly raised his hand even after organizers asked that questions be held. He said Paul also openly laughed at speakers. Then, Walton said, he saw him say something to a reserve deputy, who motioned to Paul to turn back around.

Walton said he then approached Paul and politely asked him to step outside so the two could chat, but Paul kept his hands in his lap and did not engage. He said he continued to request that Paul be respectful and to step outside with him but that Paul kept talking aloud, at which point Walton grabbed him and started toward the doors.

"As we approached that door, his left hand's free. I'm hardly applying any pressure. We were walking up to the door and he balked just a little bit," Walton said, indicating that Paul's movement contributed to his head's hitting the door.

"It was no intention to slam his head into a door in a room full of people. If my intention was to ram his head through that door, there'd be some physical evidence to show that I did it."

Paul said he did raise his hand in an attempt to ask questions of the presenters.

"I certainly didn't try to precipitate the altercation in any way, shape or form," he said.

The goal of the forum, which had been promoted by the Rogers County Sheriff's Office, was to allow voters to "become familiar with the absolute facts" about SQ 788, according to a Facebook post from the Sheriff's Office.

"There is a lot of confusion about whether this proposed legislation is actually designed to provide a medical alternative using marijuana, or if it is merely an attempt by recreational marijuana supporters and business owners to convince Oklahomans to pass legislation that will create serious health, safety, and economic concerns for our entire State," the Sheriff's Office wrote.

Speakers scheduled for the forum included District Attorney Matt Ballard, local physician Dr. Mark Paul Bishop, Drug Enforcement Agency officials and Walton.

In a statement to the Tulsa World, Ballard said he participated with the goal of helping educate voters.

"People absolutely have the right to speak their minds; preferably while showing respect to others," Ballard said. "The majority of people at the forum were engaged and respectful. A handful decided to be disrespectful to the entire group, which is unfortunate but does not detract from the value the forum provided to the community."

Ryan Kiesel, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, said in a statement Tuesday that Walton violated Paul's First Amendment rights in a criminal manner.

"The violent actions of the Rogers County Sheriff signal a disturbing reliance on government force to silence political speech," Kiesel said.

"Law enforcement must use force only under the most serious and threatening circumstances, a standard that Mr. Paul's behavior did not even come close to meeting on Monday night. Removing Mr. Paul from a public forum for expressing a First Amendment protected political view was wholly inappropriate. Doing so violently is criminal.

"The Rogers County Sheriff must be held immediately accountable for his assault on a private citizen," Kiesel continued.

"Further, the authorities in Rogers County must commit themselves publicly to policies that protect, not stifle free political thought. Indeed, these authorities have taken an oath to do just that. Instead, however, of performing their duty to protect the Constitution, the government of Rogers County has violently assaulted an individual with the express purpose of stopping him from exercising his rights before he could even have a chance to do so. This is a serious violation of the United States and Oklahoma Constitutions and likely a violation of the criminal code. Failure to take appropriate action against the Rogers County Sheriff would send a clear message that authoritarian government actors have greater in Rogers County than the citizens they ostensibly serve."

Law enforcement officials, health care providers and marijuana advocates have fiercely debated whether the language of SQ 788 is too broad. Proponents say the plan is modeled after other states' laws. Opponents, including Gov. Mary Fallin, have said its passage would be akin to full legalization of recreational marijuana.

Oklahoma's primary, when the medical marijuana question will be on the ballot, is June 26.

http://www.tulsaworldtv.com/?ndn.trackingGroup=91468&ndn.siteSection=nws_loc_sty_91468_pp&ndn.videoId=33902724

[heironymouspasparagus]

Sheriff Scott Walton held a "vote no" forum on medical marijuana.  It got physical.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/video-medical-marijuana-advocate-forcefully-removed-from-public-forum-by/article_e34d4fb0-c89f-54c1-8767-2fc1314a82c2.html




"The Rogers County Sheriff must be held immediately accountable for his assault on a private citizen," Kiesel continued.

It's Rogers County.  Would expect nothing better...

Don't forget, this is the guy that hired ex-TPD Shelby as a reward for killing the black guy in Tulsa - job well done to the sheriff!

I submit this guy was lucky they didn't just gun him down where he sat....dam trouble maker!   Right, Bread...??

[patric]

FDA approves Epidiolex, first marijuana-based drug for seizures
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-approves-epidiolex-first-marijuana-based-drug-for-seizures/

[patric]

A Tulsa police officer whose wife is a city councilor has taken to social media to say he favors legalizing medical marijuana.

"In 23 years, 6 months, 8 days, 3 hours, 22 minutes and 28 29 30 ... seconds of my law enforcement career, I have never had a negative encounter with someone high on marijuana," Sgt. Marcus Harper wrote on his personal Facebook page Monday night. "All they want to do is sit down and eat. I'm voting YES on 788."

Oklahoma voters go to the polls Tuesday to vote in local and statewide elections. No issue has drawn more attention, however, than State Question 788, which would legalize medical marijuana.

Law enforcement organizations, including the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police, are opposed to 788 in part because of the likely increase in impaired driving it would produce. Oklahoma statutes offer zero-tolerance for any driver who tests positive for THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, or its metabolites.

But Harper told the Tulsa World on Tuesday morning that such opposition is simply the "politically correct" thing to say.

"They're not supposed to drink and drive, and people still do it," Harper said. "You are not supposed to take prescription medicine and drive, but people still do it.

"When you put everything together, officers typically have more problems with people who are drunk, who are high on illicit drugs like cocaine, PCP, methamphetamines, things like that. Those are the drugs that give us the most problems."

Harper, who leads homicide investigations, says he has seen people killed over the sale of all kinds of illegal drugs, including marijuana. Legalizing the drug would make purchasing it safe and remove the criminal element that currently supplies it to the public.

"It's Prohibition 2018, that's what it is, ... so I am not buying that this is going to cause us a whole lot of problems," he said. "People are going to smoke marijuana. They just do."

Harper also has a more personal reason for supporting the State Question 788. He said a friend and former Tulsa police officer, Bob Johnson, moved to Colorado so his child, who has seizures, could be treated with cannabis.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tulsa-police-officer-voting-yes-on-medical-marijuana-state-question/article_0557648a-1d26-5c21-9bcb-e836feac9b23.html

So police union opposition is centered more on a badly-written DUI law?  Interesting.  I wonder who suggested that law in the first place?

[heironymouspasparagus]

So law police union opposition is centered more on a badly-written DUI law?  Interesting.  I wonder who suggested that law in the first place?

Gee, I wonder...?

[patric]

#30

[cannon_fodder]

Start the countdown for the governor and legislature to announce plans to subvert it...

[heironymouspasparagus]

I can hardly wait to see  how they screw up something so straightforward and simple.  But they can screw up a box of rocks...

[patric]

Start the countdown for the governor and legislature to announce plans to subvert it...

Oh that was pre-arranged.  Like criminal justice reform, the vote of the people be damned:

Gov. Mary Fallin (R) said last week that she was prepared to call lawmakers into a special legislative session this summer to address provisions which, in her view, essentially allow "recreational marijuana in the state of Oklahoma."

And in a statement on Tuesday night, the governor said she "respect (sic) the will of the voters in any question placed before them to determine the direction of our state" but that "it is our responsibility as state leaders to look out for the health and safety of Oklahoma citizens."

    I will be discussing with legislative leaders and state agencies our options going forward on how best to proceed with adding a medical and proper regulatory framework to make sure marijuana use is truly for valid medical illnesses.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/06/26/oklahoma-voters-legalize-marijuana-for-medical-use



A month from now I can see ABLE writing tons of $400 tickets for people holding less than 1.5 ounces without a license card, but I can also see the legislature tossing its zero-tolerance DUI law that says a person is intoxicated if they have metabolites in their system from sitting next to someone vaping CBD oil the previous week (since most CBD has an inert trace of THC).

[DTowner]

I can hardly wait to see  how they screw up something so straightforward and simple.  But they can screw up a box of rocks...

Even the backers have always said a lot of work would remain through legislation and regulations to put this in place.  Not that I don't suspect the legislature will try to change some of the basic policies in the initiative, but the proponents chose not to push for a constitutional amendment with this so they always left themselves exposed to legislative mischief.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Even the backers have always said a lot of work would remain through legislation and regulations to put this in place.  Not that I don't suspect the legislature will try to change some of the basic policies in the initiative, but the proponents chose not to push for a constitutional amendment with this so they always left themselves exposed to legislative mischief.

Muzzling the legislature may have to be the next step, now that 'proof of concept' has been shown to be valid.

I am waiting the opportunity to sign that petition!

[DTowner]

Health Dept. statement:

Statement on Passage of SQ 788

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has worked for the past three months to develop a framework for implementing the requirements of SQ 788. Now that Oklahoma voters have approved the measure, OSDH is confident that we are ready to meet those requirements by the specified time and that the process will be handled with integrity.

Emergency rules governing the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority will be considered by the Oklahoma State Board of Health at their July 10 meeting. Application information and requirements will be available by July 26 for all of the defined categories and the agency will begin accepting applications no later than August 25. Program information will be made available at omma.ok.gov.

"Please do not visit the state or county health department offices with questions relating to medical marijuana. We are still working with limited staff who deliver clinical and other services across the state," said OSDH Interim Commissioner Tom Bates. "All relevant information and instructions will be provided online."

The application process will be available at the required time and will be enhanced in the coming months to make it more efficient for all interested parties. It may take some time to fully implement all of the steps recommended in preparation for this new program, but we will continue to work to meet the letter of the law and to protect the health and safety of all Oklahomans.

We have also established a phone number that will provide pre-recorded information for interested applicants. The number is (405) 271-2266.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Health Dept. statement:

Statement on Passage of SQ 788

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has worked for the past three months to develop a framework for implementing the requirements of SQ 788. Now that Oklahoma voters have approved the measure, OSDH is confident that we are ready to meet those requirements by the specified time and that the process will be handled with integrity.

Emergency rules governing the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority will be considered by the Oklahoma State Board of Health at their July 10 meeting. Application information and requirements will be available by July 26 for all of the defined categories and the agency will begin accepting applications no later than August 25. Program information will be made available at omma.ok.gov.

"Please do not visit the state or county health department offices with questions relating to medical marijuana. We are still working with limited staff who deliver clinical and other services across the state," said OSDH Interim Commissioner Tom Bates. "All relevant information and instructions will be provided online."

The application process will be available at the required time and will be enhanced in the coming months to make it more efficient for all interested parties. It may take some time to fully implement all of the steps recommended in preparation for this new program, but we will continue to work to meet the letter of the law and to protect the health and safety of all Oklahomans.

We have also established a phone number that will provide pre-recorded information for interested applicants. The number is (405) 271-2266.

Huh...sounds timely...  Would not have expected that...!


Now, all I gotta do is go to the Dr and find some seed to be ready for next season...