The newly elected officers of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, the Rev. Heath Tucker, the Rev. LeRon West and the Rev. Blake Gideon, pose for a picture on Tuesday with the Rev. Hance Dilbeck, the convention's executive director-treasurer. [Photo by Chris Doyle, Baptist Messenger]

EDMOND — Oklahoma's Southern Baptists, "alarmed" about the trafficking and abuse of illegal drugs, want Oklahomans to resist efforts to legalize recreational use of marijuana in the state.

Delegates gathered Tuesday for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma's annual meeting approved a resolution expressing concern about the "rapid advance of acceptance of recreational marijuana and the trafficking and abuse" of other addictive and illegal drugs.

"We believe that every state and authority should protect its people from the trafficking of illicit drugs, and we know that the abuse of drugs leaves neighborhoods and schools vulnerable for exploitation," Baptists said in the resolution approved Tuesday at First Baptist Church of Edmond, 1300 E 33rd Street.

"We pray that the citizens of Oklahoma will oppose the legalization of recreational marijuana and that the church will be proactive through Christ-centered ministries to reach people who are addicted to substances."