By Keith Mansur

Oregon Cannabis Connection



In a recent interview with conservative Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, a morning show host on KOKH FOX 25 in Oklahoma City was pushed by social media to ask the budget beleaguered Fallin if there was a possibility of legalizing marijuana as they face a 900 million shortfall in the state. Her response was pathetic.

“We asked our viewers on Facebook what they wanted to talk to you about this morning, and there were two overwhelming themes…The first was legalizing marijuana. They think that could be a huge revenue generator here in the state…Is that even something that’s on the table right now?” Asked Chris Stanford, the host of Good Day OK.

“No, it’s not on the table for me,” said Fallin. “because, I’ve been trying to get people to stay off drugs, and don’t get high, and as we have seen in Colorado and in other states that have legalized marijuana there have been huge problems.”

Fallin went on to express her unfounded fears and use a hypothetical situation to dramatize her point. It was a fallacious argument at best, but it was much more akin to reefer madness we have come to expect from simple minded leaders that have a limited grasp of reality.

“I mean, can you imagine driving with your children or having your children in a school bus driving somewhere on a road and someone is driving along beside you or turning in front of you that’s high on marijuana? Or driving a school bus that’s high on marijuana, I mean, is that what you really want,” explained Fallin in the interview. “Or, do you, as an employer, want someone coming to work that’s high, I mean just think about that.”

And, to finish off her “argument by example”, she ends with a complete falsehood dismissively stating, “And it’s a gateway drug, so … ”

News flash Governor Fallin, it’s not a gateway drug according to most experts today or anyone that grasps the complete fallacy of the gateway drug theory. Your ridiculous argument is a complete joke. Do you think that people are not currently using marijuana in your state? Your arguments are so bad that they are laughable. Millions of Oklahoma residents have smoked marijuana and a great number of them have been driving after use. To think there will be a “spike” in incidents is not supported by facts.

Your idea that there have been huge problems with legalization in Colorado and other states is a complete lie, as well. The governors in every state, except New Jersey and Maine, have accepted and generally praised the recreational and medical systems in their states. The couple of governors that don’t like it have used the same fallacious arguments and lies to impede implementation. The only “huge” problems have been implementing reasonable and functional systems for regulation in the states, and discrimination against cannabis users, not anything associated with cannabis use.

Governor Fallin, if you don’t want to legalize marijuana in Oklahoma, just say you don’t. When you make horrible arguments, you simply show your lack of leadership and inability to grasp reality. There is a special place saved in hell for people that discriminate against others in such a manner.

To continue the persecution of people that want to use a safe and already widely available plant in the privacy of their own space, and one that is proven safer than alcohol, cigarettes, and prescription drugs, you are truly a foolish and incompetent Governor and the people of Oklahoma should throw you out. In fact, they should be ashamed that they elected you at all.

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