Medical Marijuana Day will consist of
lobbying, advocacy and training, according to Norma Sapp, director of
the Oklahoma chapter of National Organization for Reform of Marijuana
Laws (NORML).
An advocacy training session in Room
104 is slated for 10 a.m. The meeting is designed to help citizens
understand the most effective way to lobby their representatives and
how to follow a bill as it progresses through the legislature.
Volunteers from NORML will be on the
4th floor Rotunda all day to arrange meetings between
voters and their legislators.
Twenty states and the District of
Columbia have enacted medical marijuana measures. Two states —
Colorado and Washington — approved broader legislation that allows
for pot to be sold, regulated and taxed.
According to 2013 survey data from
SoonerPoll.com, 71 percent of likely Oklahoma voters support medical
marijuana. Other survey results show 57 percent prefer treating minor
marijuana violations as noncriminal, fine-only offenses. Sixteen
other states have decriminalized possession on first offenses.
State Sen. Connie
Johnson (D-Forest Park) introduced a bill for this legislative
session that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana. Two other
marijuana-related bills from the 2013 legislative session remain
alive, including a proposal to allow physician-prescribed marijuana.
