Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

[patric]

One would like to think so but fighting all the lobbying money from opiate manufacturers, professional prison management companies, and the general ignorance of people who have had "pot is bad" drilled into their heads for years is a difficult battle.

I have to laugh when I think of the western district of Oklahoma stopping cars coming from Colorado under suspicion of carrying since there are only two OHP patrolmen I can think of that I regularly see from the NM state line to Woodward.

Headed to Tulsa to advocate for medical marijuana, Colorado scholar, activist instead arrested by OHP

https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/marijuana-activist-faces-felony-drug-charge-in-oklahoma/

A prominent Colorado medical marijuana activist faces felony drug charges after what she claim was an illegal search of their vehicle in Pittsburg County.


Although the trooper claims in a court affidavit that he stopped (Dr. Regina) Nelson for failing to use her turn signal, her attorney, Brecken Wagner, believes she was targeted because of the Colorado license plates on their rental car.
Nelson refused a search of the rental SUV she was driving, but the trooper found probable cause to search it anyway after he allegedly smelled marijuana, according to the affidavit.

Nelson and Browning have speaking engagements scheduled this week in Oklahoma City and Tulsa to promote State Question 788.



We know you will eventually prove the Earth isnt flat but the law says we burn you at the stake anyway.

[Conan71]

Well, if they were smoking a doobie and driving, bad on them.  I'm a little suspicious of what passes for "probable cause" though.

[Hoss]

Well, if they were smoking a doobie and driving, bad on them.  I'm a little suspicious of what passes for "probable cause" though.

At the expense of sounding a little like Patric ....especially where the OHP is concerned.

[patric]

Well, if they were smoking a doobie and driving, bad on them.  I'm a little suspicious of what passes for "probable cause" though.

I agree on both points, but there was never any hint of DUI.
It was known who was coming when, so I would characterize it as a politically-motivated ambush.

[TeeDub]

I agree on both points, but there was never any hint of DUI.
It was known who was coming when, so I would characterize it as a politically-motivated ambush.

There was a guy I knew in Stillwater who was big into NORML and the reform of drug laws group.   He knew he was going to always be a target for the cops so he made it a point never to have pot.

This lady sounds like she wasn't as smart...   (Traveling to a non-legal state with bags of pot?   Really?)


According to the affidavit, the trooper found several "rolled cigarettes with a green leafy substance" as well as two glass pipes, a peanut butter edible; a thermos filed with low-point beer; capsules filled with green oil and a backpack containing a digital scale and multiple baggies— also filled with a green leafy substance. A suitcase containing three large vacuum-sealed baggies of marijuana also was found in the car, according to the affidavit.

[patric]

There was a guy I knew in Stillwater who was big into NORML and the reform of drug laws group.   He knew he was going to always be a target for the cops so he made it a point never to have pot.

This lady sounds like she wasn't as smart...   (Traveling to a non-legal state with bags of pot?   Really?)

Also in agreement.  I expect more from a PhD, as im sure the DEA was eager to share her itinerary with the DPS.

Nelson and Browning plan to speak about their arrest at their next event with Oklahomans for Equality, 6 p.m. Thursday at the Black Box Theater, 621, E 4th Street in Tulsa. The event is part of Nelson's 2018 Plant a Seed for Cannabis Education World Tour.

[Conan71]

Oklahoma is trying to stack the deck against MMJ by changing the rules on initiative petitions from being a percent of statewide voters to requiring that percentage in each of the 77 counties.  So basically, they are banking on the idea that rural counties will squelch the urban areas where people might be just a bit more enlightened on such matters.  We certainly don't want to screw things up for the opiate, alcohol, and private prison industries!

The Oklahoma Capitol seriously needs an enema.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Apparently, some legislators are so concerned about recreational marijuana becoming legal in Oklahoma that they want to make it harder for initiative petitions to get on statewide ballots.

House Bill 1603, by Rep. John Enns, R-Enid, proposes a constitutional amendment that could increase the number of signatures required for initiative petitions to be placed on the ballot and would require that a minimum number of signatures be obtained in each of the state's 77 counties.

"A lot of what's going around in these other states, like legalization of recreational marijuana, has been done through initiative petition," Enns said in explaining his bill to the House Rules Committee on Tuesday. "And (constituents) are like, 'We don't want to see that happen in Oklahoma.'"

"So really," asked Rep. Melodye Blancett, D-Tulsa, "the issue here is the fear — this is a pre-emptive strike — regarding a fear that some marijuana bill will come up and become a state question?"

"It's not a pre-emptive strike," Enns replied. "It's an effort to allow the rest of the state to have some say-so in the initiative petition process."

Oklahomans will vote June 26 on a medical marijuana measure that was brought to the ballot through an initiative petition.

Currently, initiative petitions seeking a statutory change must gather a number of valid signatures equal to 8 percent of the state's legal voters at the time of the last gubernatorial election. Constitutional amendments require 15 percent. Referenda, which allow voters to repeal legislative acts, require 5 percent.

Enns' bill would require that those minimums be achieved in each of the 77 counties. It also would remove the provision that the number of signatures required be based on the number of legal voters in the last gubernatorial election. That would seem to leave open the question of how the baseline for determining the number of required signatures is to be determined.

Enns did not disagree when Rep. David Perryman, D-Chickasha, suggested that the baseline could become presidential elections, when voter registration typically peaks. That would mean a higher signature threshold. Enns said he would be willing to revert to the existing language on that point.

"As it stands right now," he said, "a lot of the population centers around the state — also around the United States, for that matter — are controlling these kinds of referendums. It's like the rural folks ... don't have any kind of say in the issue.

"My constituents are saying, 'We've got to do something about this, because we don't feel like we're represented at all.'"

The bill now goes to the House floor.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/fear-of-recreational-marijuana-legalization-apparently-prompts-move-to-curb/article_d93b8fdf-9d5d-564d-930e-2bb3e481c051.html

[Hoss]

Oklahoma is trying to stack the deck against MMJ by changing the rules on initiative petitions from being a percent of statewide voters to requiring that percentage in each of the 77 counties.  So basically, they are banking on the idea that rural counties will squelch the urban areas where people might be just a bit more enlightened on such matters.  We certainly don't want to screw things up for the opiate, alcohol, and private prison industries!

The Oklahoma Capitol seriously needs an enema.


http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/fear-of-recreational-marijuana-legalization-apparently-prompts-move-to-curb/article_d93b8fdf-9d5d-564d-930e-2bb3e481c051.html

[patric]

"As it stands right now," he said, "a lot of the population centers around the state — also around the United States, for that matter — are controlling these kinds of referendums. It's like the rural folks ... don't have any kind of say in the issue.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/fear-of-recreational-marijuana-legalization-apparently-prompts-move-to-curb/article_d93b8fdf-9d5d-564d-930e-2bb3e481c051.html

Rural folks pretty much had their say when they repeatedly forced the state into Liquor-by-the-Wink over Liquor-by-the-Drink.

[patric]

In a phone interview with the Tulsa World, Nelson contended the circumstances of the vehicle search and arrest were illegal. She said she was driving to Tulsa from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to visit family when the trooper pulled her over, claiming he told her he wanted to let her know about "the law around here" after noticing she had a plate from Colorado and that she did not properly use a turn signal.

"That was a targeted stop, so everything that happened after that really doesn't matter," Nelson said. "This is too common in Oklahoma. I've traveled here to see my family for years. I've heard too many stories from people being damaged by this.

"That one night I spent in jail in Pittsburg County — all three of us, who were separated, met someone who's been a targeted stop off the Indian Nation Turnpike. And they're not as fortunate to have the voice that I do."

Nelson's attorney, Brecken Wagner, said the trooper's version of which traffic violation occurred was that Nelson did not use a turn signal at least 100 feet before entering the ramp — an offense for which he has never seen a traffic ticket in his career as a defense attorney.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/speakers-for-tulsa-cannabis-event-arrested-on-marijuana-charges-after/article_f116c22c-81f0-50ee-8b7b-a195f4065ead.html


"Our attorney confirmed that targeted stops are popular in that area. And ... we came to find — overnight in jail — all of us had a cellmate who was from out of state and believe they were caught in a targeted stop.

"Trooper Ashby Sutherland's words were: 'Well, technically, you may not have had your blinker on for more than 100 feet before the exit. And because I saw you had out-of-state plates, I thought you might ought to know the law here,'" she recalled.

[TeeDub]

Not to be cynical, but.   

I love how they are arguing the how/why she got caught, not the fact that it is fact illegal to take marijuana out of Colorado into ANY adjoining state.

Use whatever excuse you want, however you want to justify it, but until it is legal, you take a risk.    She gambled and lost. 

[patric]

Not to be cynical, but.   

I love how they are arguing the how/why she got caught, not the fact that it is fact illegal to take marijuana out of Colorado into ANY adjoining state.

Use whatever excuse you want, however you want to justify it, but until it is legal, you take a risk.    She gambled and lost. 

Two wrongs dont make a right, but yes you are legally correct.  Having said that, there should never be the crime of opportunity that lets someone say "I claim to smell something therefore I can do what I want."

[Conan71]

In a phone interview with the Tulsa World, Nelson contended the circumstances of the vehicle search and arrest were illegal. She said she was driving to Tulsa from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to visit family when the trooper pulled her over, claiming he told her he wanted to let her know about "the law around here" after noticing she had a plate from Colorado and that she did not properly use a turn signal.

"That was a targeted stop, so everything that happened after that really doesn't matter," Nelson said. "This is too common in Oklahoma. I've traveled here to see my family for years. I've heard too many stories from people being damaged by this.

"That one night I spent in jail in Pittsburg County — all three of us, who were separated, met someone who's been a targeted stop off the Indian Nation Turnpike. And they're not as fortunate to have the voice that I do."

Nelson's attorney, Brecken Wagner, said the trooper's version of which traffic violation occurred was that Nelson did not use a turn signal at least 100 feet before entering the ramp — an offense for which he has never seen a traffic ticket in his career as a defense attorney.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/speakers-for-tulsa-cannabis-event-arrested-on-marijuana-charges-after/article_f116c22c-81f0-50ee-8b7b-a195f4065ead.html

I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist when it comes to cops but "Indian Nations Turnpike" clicked with me.

Five years ago, my wife and I were headed to a mountain bike race in ATX and I had to make business stops in Hugo and Paris, Tx.  We were just south of the north toll gate on the Indian Nations when we got pulled over by OHP, ostensibly because he could not see our car tag with the bicycles on the tray rack behind the car.  He muttered something about needing to add a supplemental tag to our rack when bikes are on so they can identify us better.  This happened during the morning hours.  Written or verbal warning and free to go.

That suddenly makes sense that he figured mountain bikes might mean dope, instead he got a couple of clean cut 40-somethings and no weed or alcohol odor.  I can't tell you how many times I've had another cop behind me either in the city or highway who didn't light me up for a mountain bike open-carry.

[TeeDub]

I had one pull me over coming back from Texas around midnight.   "tag light out"    Looking back on it, I never fixed the tag light and haven't been pulled over since (2-3 years ago.)

Apparently a couple of 40 somethings with 3 kids in the car wasn't really who he was looking for either.

That being said, it is a boring, lonely stretch of road...  Probably hard to reach their required number of contacts (we don't use quotas anymore) without some randoms pulled over.

[DTowner]

Well-known medical marijuana advocates complaining to a Pittsburgh County judge that their car full of weed was improperly searched on a pretext is not likely to get a favorable outcome.