Debate focuses on medical pot
EDMOND — Several minutes into his opening remarks, August Rivera grabbed a dozen bags containing 72 ounces of gummy bears— the quantity of edible marijuana that would be allowed under State Question 788 — and dumped them on the floor in front of his lectern to show the amount residents may soon possess.
A minute later, a man in a bright green shirt that read “Oklahoma Legalize It, Saves Lives” walked to the front of the room, grabbed a bag of the gummy bears, ripped it open and angrily told Rivera that a bag of candy so easy to open would not be allowed.
It was the most contentious moment in an hourlong debate over the medical marijuana state question at the Edmond Community Center on Thursday night. Rivera, with Oklahomans Against State Question 788, stood opposite Sam Fredrickson, a board member with the liberal group Our Revolution Oklahoma, who argued in favor.
“We know this is medicine that cures pain,” Fredrickson said.
On June 26, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to join most other states in allowing marijuana for medicinal use. Residents with a medical marijuana license would be allowed to possess eight ounces of marijuana, several marijuana plants and 72 ounces of edible marijuana. Sales would be taxed at seven percent, with the revenue going to public education and substance abuse rehabilitation programs.
About 60 people made up an audience Thursday night that was often restless but rarely rude. The event was hosted by the Heartland Republican Women’s Club, which bills itself as “the reddest group of women in the reddest state in the nation.” Debaters answered a wide variety of questions from the crowd.
Effects on children
Rivera’s arguments centered on the effects of drugs on children. He spent 11 years working in child protective services in the Department of Human Services, witnessing horrendous cases of child abuse, shaken baby syndrome and sexual abuse, the vast majority of which involved drugs and alcohol, he said.
“I understand there are people who are needing compassion and comfort,” Rivera said of patients in pain. “But giving unfettered access to marijuana is not the right way of doing it. There are better ways of doing it. Let science do its work.”
Fredrickson complained that “every politician is going to hang his hat on, ‘Oh, the children, it’s all about the children’ and we know it’s not all about the children. That’s not true.”
Rivera’s response: “For me, it actually is.”
“It raises our concern,” Rivera said, “when we have a lot of these drugs out there in combinations with the drugs that we already have issues with — alcohol, opioids. Now, we want to add a third one. Our issue is in adding another substance, that causes impairment, to the streets.”
Fredrickson’s arguments were more wideranging, touching on pain relief for patients, ending the nation’s war on drugs and ignoring the “corporate media.” He repeatedly accused pharmaceutical companies of blatant corruption and, despite speaking to a Republican group, railed against “political elites” in both major parties for not discussing the issue of marijuana more.
Drug-free America?
“The idea of a drugfree America is a total farce,” Fredrickson said. “There never has been a drug-free society. There never will be a drug-free society. This is entirely nonsense.”
Opponents of SQ 778 falsely warn the sky will fall, Fredrickson said, and use the bogeyman of marijuana to misinform about its effects. He rejected Rivera’s claims that medical marijuana will send more children to emergency rooms and increase instances of child abuse.
“Someone who is in pain or is a bad person does these things and the suggestion is that it’s the substance that does it,” Fredrickson said. “This has caused so much damage, this mythology of the war on drugs.”
Before the event, both sides distributed literature supporting their arguments. Fredrickson’s supporters handed out small green papers that claimed medical cannabis “works for cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s” and several other ailments.
A flyer from Oklahomans Against 788 warned that residents will need hazmat suits, protective eyewear and respirators “to protect you from toxic black mold from indoor grow (operations)” and “possible explosion from butane hash oil extractions" if the state question is passed.
Among those anonymously asking questions was a hotel owner concerned about keeping his or her hotel smoke-free if a guest claimed they must smoke medical marijuana. The full text of the state question available on the attorney general’s office’s website contains no mention of hotels or motels.
Rivera warned the hotel owner that he or she would have no choice but to allow smoking. Fredrickson said the question ignores far more important matters.
“Let’s look at the bigger picture,” he said. “I’m sorry if you have this difficulty but the world has trade-offs. We’ll work it out somehow but this can’t be a deciding factor or even in the top 50 things to think about.”