The debate over legalizing marijuana is heating up across Oklahoma. Sen. Constance Johnson recently authored a bill that would make marijuana legal and taxable in Oklahoma. It failed to get out of committee.And now, an Oklahoma City group is pushing a petition to allow city voters to decide whether to decriminalize marijuana citywide.“Because we cannot legalize in Oklahoma City, because that’s in conflict with state law, we are changing it from a Class B, which has jail time, to a Class A,” said Mark Faulk, a chief proponent of the initiative.The petition would allow Oklahoma City residents to decide if possession and use of pot should still be punishable by jail time or a maximum $500 fine.“Essentially what that does is that turns that into something that’s very similar to a speeding ticket,” Faulk said.State drug agents say the move is dangerous.“We’re concerned that there will be more people on our streets driving motor vehicles high on drugs, showing up to work high, so it can impact every aspect of society by legally allowing more people to freely be high on drugs,” said Mark Woodward, spokesman for Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.Supporters claim decriminalizing marijuana would save taxpayers money and make Oklahoma City residents safer.“From a very moral, and a taxpayer-cost perspective, the right thing to do is not to put non-violent marijuana smokers in jail,” said Faulk. “Our belief is that the police department of Oklahoma City has much better things to do than to go after something as small as this.”The petition must garner 6,200 signatures within 90 days to make it to the ballot for the municipal elections in March 2015.

The debate over legalizing marijuana is heating up across Oklahoma. Sen. Constance Johnson recently authored a bill that would make marijuana legal and taxable in Oklahoma. It failed to get out of committee.

And now, an Oklahoma City group is pushing a petition to allow city voters to decide whether to decriminalize marijuana citywide.


“Because we cannot legalize in Oklahoma City, because that’s in conflict with state law, we are changing it from a Class B, which has jail time, to a Class A,” said Mark Faulk, a chief proponent of the initiative.

The petition would allow Oklahoma City residents to decide if possession and use of pot should still be punishable by jail time or a maximum $500 fine.

“Essentially what that does is that turns that into something that’s very similar to a speeding ticket,” Faulk said.

State drug agents say the move is dangerous.

“We’re concerned that there will be more people on our streets driving motor vehicles high on drugs, showing up to work high, so it can impact every aspect of society by legally allowing more people to freely be high on drugs,” said Mark Woodward, spokesman for Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

Supporters claim decriminalizing marijuana would save taxpayers money and make Oklahoma City residents safer.

“From a very moral, and a taxpayer-cost perspective, the right thing to do is not to put non-violent marijuana smokers in jail,” said Faulk. “Our belief is that the police department of Oklahoma City has much better things to do than to go after something as small as this.”

The petition must garner 6,200 signatures within 90 days to make it to the ballot for the municipal elections in March 2015.