Important Message From the DPRNOK President:
Members and Friends,I believe we must keep trying to use the system to change the
law; so, please keep contacting your elected officials and let them
know what you think. You can easily find out who your federal and
state legislators are by calling the Oklahoma Board of Election
(405) 521-2391 or you can also find this information online here.
I don't think using the system is all
we should do; I believe we must go on the offensive against
prejudice. Be prepared to discredit inaccurate statements about
marijuana and the people who use it. If you hear anyone say
something negative about marijuana, ask them what evidence they
have to support their opinion. Be prepared with your own knowledge
of marijuana facts. The drug cartels have become rich and powerful
from U.S. pot consumer money! With these profits, they buy
influence within our government and firearms to protect drug
territory. The only way to push them back is to establish a legal
market. We need quality controlled, consumer protected marijuana,
grown right here in the U.S. Unfortunately, many U.S. growers and
dealers have become very similar to the cartels. In 2010, a ballot
initiative for marijuana legalization failed in California. One of
the deciding factors in that vote was the large number of medical
marijuana distributors who opposed legalization.
Pot consumers are getting "screwed" from every direction:
1. The cartels are using pot consumer money to terrorize
communities (i.e. Juarez, Mexico), and circulate low quality brick
weed.
2. U.S. growers and dealers are taking pot consumer money and most
never do a damn thing to help change the law.
3. The government takes away our freedom and money through harsh
marijuana penalties.
Some of you may think, "speak for yourself man; I only pay $25
an 1/8 for some great kind bud. I'm not getting screwed!" Well,
think a little harder; you're paying $25 for an eighth ounce of
dried leaves and flowers. You're getting screwed alright, just a
little softer than average. You may be thinking, "well, I grow my
own." Well.so what? You still pay a portion of your taxes for the
government to arrest people like you, and even more taxes to keep
people like you in jail. In fact, in Oklahoma, you can serve life
in prison for growing your own! So, if you get busted, you'll get
screwed hard! I used to think that using marijuana was an act of
civil disobedience, a protest of sorts. When I consider who really
profits from this arrangement, a radical thought occurs to me.
First, to fight back against the drug cartels, we need to
legalize. Here's the kicker: To legalize, I believe we should stop
using marijuana. We should go on a Marijuana Consumer Strike! Even
though reform is slowly spreading through the U.S., at this rate
many of us, who were born after the 1960s, will be in our sixties
before anything changes in Oklahoma.
How do we accelerate legalization? Obviously, we need to
persuade the growers and dealers to support legalization. I'm not
talking about all of them, but enough to push our movement well
over the 50% mark nationwide. It is time for us to stop just
complaining and learn to engage this issue as a business
transaction. It is time for us to demand new terms to the deal. We
need to stand up to the people who have been taking advantage of
this situation. Refuse to give them any money or, in the
government's case, any excuse to confiscate our property. We need
to tell pot merchants that if they want to profit, they need to
help legalize. They need to pay taxes on their profits instead of
funding the black market. The dealers with vision, who care about
our nation, will have an opportunity to establish themselves as
pioneers in a new legal industry.
As for the government, I believe they would suddenly be in
shock, if they couldn't make money off arresting marijuana users.
They would have to slash drug law enforcement budgets and switch to
the IRS to capture revenue from marijuana. In other words, we would
be playing the IRS against the drug enforcement agencies, a battle
which the drug enforcement agencies could never win. This may seem
impossible, but I'm convinced that we need to quit thinking like
well treated slaves and start behaving as a powerful consumer
coalition. Put up the pipe and pick up the pace. Tell people making
money off marijuana ( i.e. government and selfish dealers), "No,
there is No Deal, until you quit ripping us off and give us a real
deal!"
by Jeff Pickens, President of the Drug Policy Reform Network of Oklahoma, which sponsors the Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign, OCCC.
Top Anti-Drug Proponents Change Minds, Now Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana
-Dr. Donald Tashkin, anti marijuana researcher for the National Institute on Drug Abuse-Dr. David E. Krahl, Ph.D., former Deputy Director of the Drug Free America Foundation
-John J. Dilulio, Jr., co-author - How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs
Medical marijuana isn't allowed as a defense in court in Oklahoma. Why?
New California Studies Show Marijuana Effective for Relieving
Chronic Pain and
Easing Muscle Spasms
U. S.
Government Owns Patent on Medical Marijuana
81% Surveyed Back Med Marijuana, but Feds Won't Budge
Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Activism Alert:
The Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign for
medical marijuana is making great progress. Our goal is to change
state law, to allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana. This
would include regulations for cultivation and distribution. In
fact, the final version of the proposed legislation for legalizing
medical marijuana for Oklahoma can be viewed here.
We have received written endorsements from more than seventy
potential Oklahoma medical marijuana patients and three Oklahoma
medical professionals (one Medical Doctor (M.D.), one Registered
Nurse (R.N.). and a pain therapist.).
Please call, email, fax
and/or write letters to your Oklahoma state senator and
representative today! Ask them to - Please introduce and
endorse The Oklahoma Compassionate Care Medical Marijuana
Legislation. Legislators in other states have reported
overwhelmingly positive response to similar proposals.
The campaign has a tiny budget. We need your contributions to
afford more publicity. We need volunteers to help with a wide range
of activities. With your help, we can build a strong statewide
coalition for medical marijuana. Your active participation is the
most important contribution of all. To endorse this campaign or get
more information contact: 405-506-DRUG or E-mail. Endorsements may
also be made here on this web page. To make
a donation or to subscribe for one year for $10 to this cause
online through the Drug Policy Reform Network of Oklahoma, the
group behind the Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign, please click
appropriate PayPal below:
Or, if you prever, mail in donations via this print out form.
"Marijuana is Medicine" Forum Held in Edmond.
On April 19, 2009, we had an opportunity to
learn about the medical aspects of marijuana (cannabis) at a pubic
meeting in Edmond sponsored by the Drug Policy Forum of Oklahoma.
Two health care professionals gave informative talks and two
potential candidates for medical use (if it were legal) discussed
their points of view.
Dr. Morton Skorodin, of Stillwater, discussed for a lay audience
the scientific background regarding benefits, risks and side
effects of Cannabis. Bill Humphries, R. N., who specializes as a
hospice nurse, discussed the clinical condition for which its use
is indicated. He also discussed some of the legal intricacies
involved. In at least 14 states it's legal, but not in
Oklahoma.
Some of the scientific findings are amazing, and it seems likely
that cannabis and its derivatives will be used extensively as
medicine in the future. It has been used since Bible times for
symptoms such as nausea and pain. Many people are aware that cancer
patients use it to relieve nausea from chemotherapy. What was
really surprising was to learn that it actually can fight cancer
itself, as has been shown in lab animals with a wide variety of
cancer types. In Spain they put the major compound, THC, in the
actual brain tumors of people with the highly malignant
glioblastoma.
Another recent finding is that cannabis blocks the same enzyme that
standard Alzheimer's drugs do, but more efficiently. In the next
few years, we may find out that those aging hippies unknowingly
protected themselves from dementia by smoking pot. There are many
other illnesses for which cannabis may be helpful. Although
remarkably safe as medications go, with no reported fatalities,
smoking it promotes chronic bronchitis and it can be habit-forming.
Smoking it can be avoided, though, by using it with a vaporizer, as
tea, or used in food, such as brownies. Not to be forgotten, the
drug war vastly increases the danger of cannabis. It is illegal
under federal law even where specifically legal for medical use
under state law.
The Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act (HR-5842), introduced
by Rep. Ron Paul, would make federal authorities respect states'
current laws on medical cannabis and end DEA raids on facilities
distributing medical marijuana legally under state law. Please
write or call your representative to ask him to support this
bill.
FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Federal law prohibits any use of marijuana, but
Maine, Vermont, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana,
Nevada, Oregon, New Jersey, Washington, New Mexico, Michigan and
Rhode Island allow it to be grown and used for medicinal
purposes.
Legal medical marijuana is NOT available in Oklahoma. Sick
Oklahomans need your help to allow them to seek medical marijuana
treatment. It has been found to aid those suffering from chronic
pain, glaucoma, neurologic disorders, epilepsy, Parkinson's
disease, multiple sclerosis, AIDS-wasting syndrome, and nausea and
vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy.
Doctors and patients in 14 states can freely decide if marijuana is
the best medicine. Unfortunately in Oklahoma, citizens who need
marijuana are treated like common criminals. They are locked up in
our very overcrowded prisons and then we have to pay for their
medical care. Our law provides no defense based on a medical
necessity, even when a person cannot afford drug store medicines.
How that added misjustice came about may be explained by this
story.
ARE YOU A PATIENT WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM USING MARIJUANA AS A MEDICINE? ARE YOU A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL WHO IS AWARE OF ITS THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS? PLEASE CONTACT US NOW!! We are seeking endorsements from Oklahoma doctors, patients, and prominent organizations.
We need Oklahomans who could benefit from medical marijuana to tell their stories and/or even testify to legislators about those who are either sick or in pain and who want or need medical marijuana. All interviews will be kept private unless we have your permission to tell your story.
Please call your OK senator and representative and tell them to sponsor, or support, the Oklahoma Compassionate Care Medical Marijuana bill. Find and e-mail your state legislators here, or off the Internet at the Oklahoma Election Board (405)521-2391, or contact your county election board.
Activist Ladies Offer Legislators Advice
on Medical Marijuana--"Get Busy!" 
Mother Credits Medical Marijuana For Saving Her Autistic Boy's Life. Video 
