{"id":30310,"date":"2018-06-21T15:30:25","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T20:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=30310"},"modified":"2018-06-21T17:41:08","modified_gmt":"2018-06-21T22:41:08","slug":"statewide-vote-approaches-with-advocates-and-police-at-odds-over-medical-marijuanas-perceived-benefits-and-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/06\/21\/statewide-vote-approaches-with-advocates-and-police-at-odds-over-medical-marijuanas-perceived-benefits-and-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Statewide vote approaches with advocates and police at odds over medical marijuana\u2019s perceived benefits and threats\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_30315\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-30315\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/David-Rowden-2-1920x1280.jpg\" alt=\"David Rowden sits in an armchair in his Chandler, OK home.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Rowden suffers from chronic pain in his neck, back and shoulders. He believes medical marijuana would bring better pain relief than the opioid painkillers he currently uses.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/461573085&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p><p>Nearly 20 years of chronic pain hasn\u2019t killed David Rowden\u2019s sense of humor.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>The 62-year-old army veteran looks at a family picture standing on a coffee table and points out that the man on a nearby magazine cover isn\u2019t family.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u201cThat\u2019s Willie Nelson,\u201d Rowden said with a heavy laugh.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Rowden eases himself into an armchair and sets a glass of beer on a side table. His tone becomes serious as he describes the freak workplace accident that brings him chronic pain.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Rowden said he was working in a state prison when \u201ca bookshelf loaded with big thick three-ring binders fell on my head.\u201d<\/p><p>Injuries from the improperly mounted shelf left Rowden in so much pain he had to get surgery to fuse three of his vertebrae together.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Later, Rowden\u2019s doctor prescribed opioid painkillers to help him cope. He\u2019s still taking them for his neck pain, and over the years more problems have cropped up. Rowden said he now has lower back pain and bursitis in both shoulders.<\/p><p>Rowden would rather use medical marijuana for the pain. When he lived in Washington, a doctor there recommended marijuana \u2014 and Rowden said the drug helped him cut his opioid use in half.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>That\u2019s why now, Rowden is a vocal supporter of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ok.gov\/elections\/Election_Info\/State_Question_info.html\">State Question 788<\/a>, a measure on the June 26 primary election ballot that could legalize the licensed cultivation, use and possession of medical marijuana in Oklahoma.<\/p><p>A \u2018yes\u2019 vote allows doctors to sign a form recommending a patient for a medical marijuana license. Patients would send the signed form and a fee to officials at the Oklahoma State Department of Health to get the two-year license.<\/p><p>Rowden will support the measure because he believes deciding whether marijuana is an appropriate treatment \u201cis the doctor\u2019s job, not bureaucrats, law enforcers or lawyers.\u201d<\/p><p>Polls <a href=\"https:\/\/soonerpoll.com\/medicinal-marijuana-still-likely-to-pass-no-increase-of-opposition-since-january\/\">suggest most Oklahoma voters<\/a> support medical marijuana, but 788 faces vocal opposition.<\/p>\n<h3>Opposition and Safety Concerns<\/h3><p>Organizations representing doctors, pharmacists, sheriffs and district attorneys are campaigning aggressively to convince Oklahomans to vote \u2018no\u2019 and block the medical marijuana measure.<\/p><p>Several sheriffs <a href=\"https:\/\/kfor.com\/2018\/03\/14\/oklahoma-sheriff-under-fire-for-facebook-post-about-medical-marijuana-state-question\/\">have argued<\/a> the ballot language in SQ 788 would make it possible for almost anyone to get a medical marijuana card. They say the vote could <a href=\"http:\/\/ktul.com\/news\/local\/rogers-county-sheriff-stands-by-campaign-against-medical-marijuana-state-question-788\">mean more impaired drivers, an increase in crime<\/a> \u2014 and higher rates of drug abuse.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30312\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-30312\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/Woodward-1-1920x1309.jpg\" alt=\"Mark Woodward sits at his desk in the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Oklahoma City office.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/Woodward-1-1920x1309.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/Woodward-1-500x341.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/Woodward-1-768x523.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/Woodward-1-150x102.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/Woodward-1-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/Woodward-1-620x423.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/06\/Woodward-1-1585x1080.jpg 1585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Woodward says medical marijuana needs to be well regulated for public safety.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Mark Woodward, a spokesperson with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, said his agency is one of several working with the health department to draft potential rules in the event voters do legalize medical marijuana.<\/p><p>For example, Woodward said Oklahoma could take a cue from other states that have enacted rules to make sure edible marijuana products are less attractive to kids \u201cand don\u2019t look like candies or other existing products.\u201d<\/p><p>Police and state narcotics officials are also asking for rules they say would protect a legal marijuana industry from criminals. Woodward said black market operators have tried to camouflage their illegal businesses by hiding behind the legal marijuana industry in other states.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>To prevent that, Woodward and other law enforcement groups suggest setting up a marijuana sales database and requiring all marijuana be grown indoors.<\/p><p>Woodward said every plant would be \u201ctagged with a batch number like they do in other states.\u201d Police also want security systems in place to record who enters and leaves commercial grow operations.<\/p><p>Law enforcement officers are especially worried that legalized medical marijuana will lead to an increase in car accidents and traffic deaths. To back up those concerns, Woodward cites a report by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmhidta.org\/html\/2016%2520FINAL%2520Legalization%2520of%2520Marijuana%2520in%2520Colorado%2520The%2520Impact.pdf\">federally funded law enforcement agency<\/a> that investigates drug trafficking. That report suggests fatal accidents increased in Colorado after medical marijuana was legalized.<\/p><p>Woodward said the data cover a lot of ground including \u201cDUI\u2019s (and) ER visits,\u201d but the report has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/wonk\/wp\/2017\/08\/04\/is-jeff-sessions-planning-to-crack-down-on-legal-pot-this-letter-suggests-he-might-be\/?utm_term=.f8398c9e3634\">heavily criticized <\/a>by marijuana legalization <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2017\/08\/18\/fake-data-on-marijuana-is-spewed-by-a-government-agency\/\">advocates<\/a> and outside researchers.<\/p><p>Officials from the Colorado Department of Transportation won\u2019t comment on the accuracy of that report, but they say the state didn\u2019t collect reliable data on marijuana-involved, traffic fatalities after medical marijuana was legalized.<\/p><p>Also, the two agencies count marijuana-involved fatalities differently. The transportation department\u2019s figures on fatalities from recent years are lower than those reported by the drug trafficking agency.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Officials with Colorado State Patrol don\u2019t know how legalizing medical marijuana affected DUI\u2019s because they didn\u2019t count those DUI\u2019s separately from ones caused by alcohol and other drugs until 2014.<\/p>\n<h3>No \u2018free-for-all\u2019<\/h3><p>As David Rowden tells more stories behind the photos hanging on the walls of his home in Chandler, he talks about his time working as an Army soldier and corrections officer \u2014 and his current work as a part-time tax preparer.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>His dad was a highway patrol trooper. Public safety is important to him, but Rowden just doesn\u2019t see any danger posed by medical marijuana.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s already going on,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are smoking pot every day.\u201d<\/p><p>But Mark Woodward and police officers around the state say the safety concerns are real. If SQ 788 passes, they say it\u2019s critical the health department and the Legislature write strong rules to protect the public and the new industry the ballot measure would create.<\/p><p>\u201cThe rules and regulations, (and) legislation will better define what are the parameters of that,\u201d Woodward said. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be the wild west free-for-all of, \u2018I can do whatever I want with marijuana now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Law enforcement agencies around the state say medical marijuana poses real safety concerns. If State Question 788 passes, they want strong rules to govern medical marijuana use. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":30315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[895,896,892,893,833,894,834],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30310"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30310"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30326,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30310\/revisions\/30326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}