Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Oklahoma newspapers:

The Oklahoman. Aug. 18, 2019.

- Medical pot booming in Oklahoma, for good or for bad

One year after Oklahoma voters said resoundingly that they wanted medical marijuana to be legalized in the state, they’ve gotten what they asked for, in abundance - the good and the not so good.

The most beneficial “good” to the state is the tax revenue generated. In July, the total was just more than $2.5 million in collected medical marijuana tax. As David Dishman noted in one of a series of stories this week by reporters for The Oklahoman, the amount collected in November - the first month of collections since legalization - was only about $1,300.

Approval of medical marijuana also has meant the creation of jobs. As August began, the state had approved more than 6,500 medical marijuana business licenses. Licenses are needed for those who grow the plant, the processors who commercially extract the THC from the plant, and those who sell products to consumers.

The dawn of this new age in Oklahoma has led to dispensaries opening across the state. In the metro areas, dispensaries seemingly are everywhere. Billboards touting dispensaries are becoming more prevalent on state highways, to the chagrin of some who fear they could hurt Oklahoma’s tourism industry.

Consumers of medical marijuana are, in theory, supposed to be patients - people who want access to medical marijuana to alleviate their discomfort from chemotherapy treatments, or glaucoma, or other health concerns. However, language in the state question approved by voters last year was exceedingly broad, saying that “no qualifying conditions” were needed for someone to obtain a two-year license to purchase the drug. Instead, they would only need to “articulate a medical need,” as the language put it.

Thus, the volume of patient applications should come as no surprise. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority had expected to see roughly 80,000 people apply for a medical marijuana license in the first year after legalization. Instead, more than double that amount had applied by the end of July.

Based on what has transpired in other states, the OMMA had expected about 200,000 people - 5% of Oklahoma’s population - to eventually become licensed patients. We’re already bumping up against that in just a year.

It also should come as little surprise that several dispensaries have opened adjacent to many Oklahoma colleges and universities.

The OMMA website lists physicians who are willing to see patients and decide whether to recommend a medical marijuana license. The list includes doctors from Boise City to Atoka. As with any profession, some doctors are better than others, and that’s a concern, as Integris oncologist Dr. Johnny McMinn noted in one story.

McMinn said he sees the value in medical marijuana for some of his patients, but, “There are places out there that give my profession a bad name . an assembly line handing out forms for every headache or hangnail.”

And, bad advice can result in improper dosing, to ill effect. “There’s a lot of trial and error,” he said. “That makes me uncomfortable.”

He’s not alone. But per the people’s wishes medical pot is here to stay, and thus far it’s booming.

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Muskogee Phoenix. Aug. 18, 2019.

- SQ 802 holds more promise than legislative panel

Lawmakers who assembled this month during the inaugural meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral Healthcare Working Group formed with the stated goal to develop ways to increase access to health care in Oklahoma revealed why that probably won’t happen.

It might have been an inadvertent slip of the tongue as they attempted to carefully craft a message to counter the efforts of those trying to get State Question 802 on the 2020 ballot. The ballot initiative, which requires the signatures of nearly 178,000 voters, would expand Medicaid coverage in Oklahoma to an additional 196,000 low-income uninsured adults and bring in federal funding.

The co-chairmen of the working group hit the right notes with their message, stating the overall goal “is to create a healthy Oklahoma,” which ranks 47th in the nation right now because of public policies and lifestyle choices. In doing that, they “improve access” and “make it more affordable.”

Those are laudable goals all right, but the co-chairmen went on to say there likely will be no action taken by the Legislature in the near future. The immediate goal it seems is to gather as much information as possible and then figure out what they need to do next.

Well, that train has left the station - nearly a decade has passed since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. If lawmakers wanted to pursue an alternative they should have been gathering information and assembling a plan years ago. The assembly of this working group now appears to be a frantic effort to derail efforts to get the signatures needed to put SQ 802 on the ballot.

The Oklahomans Decide Health Care campaign launched in June in response to lawmakers’ failure to respond to the will of their constituents. Petitioners need nearly 178,000 signatures before 5 p.m. Oct. 28 in order get SQ 802 on the ballot.

There are many Oklahomans who work for employers who don’t offer health insurance or work part time and are ineligible for plans that are offered. There are many more who are ineligible for SoonerCare and don’t qualify for subsidies offered for insurance plans offered through the ACA marketplace.

Lawmakers who have blocked Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma have kept more than a billion dollars of our tax dollars from coming back home from Washington every year. That money could have kept hospitals from closing and created jobs, boosted our economy, but it went to 36 other states that expanded Medicaid.

SQ 802 needs to be on the ballot in Oklahoma. We can no longer wait on Oklahoma lawmakers - those who are at the Capitol are dragging their feet because they are ideologically opposed to expansion. Support Oklahoma Decides Healthcare, find a petition and sign it - get SQ 802 on the ballot.

Don’t get hoodwinked by this working group.

“We’re really excited to get started,” said Amber England, spokeswoman for the Oklahomans Decide Health Care campaign. “Since we launched the campaign in mid-June and with the Supreme Court decision, we have had tons of people across the state reaching out and wanting to volunteer on the campaign. That’s an indication of how much Oklahomans want to decide this issue.”

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Tulsa World. Aug. 20, 2019.

- A new school year should push the state forward to meet continuing needs of education funding

Most Oklahoma public schools resume classes this week.

Locally, Bixby, Jenks and Sand Springs reconvene Tuesday. In Tulsa, Union and Broken Arrow, the first day is Wednesday.

The beginning of the school year is naturally an exciting, optimistic time: New students come to new classrooms eager to learn.

Returning school teachers will see the effect of the second year of better state funding of public schools. Earlier this year, the Legislature approved Gov. Kevin Stitt’s plan for $1,220 a year raises for 97% of public school teachers. Last year, on the eve of a statewide teacher strike, the Legislature approved taxes and appropriations to fund $6,100 teacher pay raises.

The jury is still out on whether the raises will, as Stitt has repeatedly promised, move the state to first place in the region in average teacher pay. An arcane teacher pay raise bill in Texas makes sorting out the states’ relative position hard to determine ahead of annual state-by-state reports from the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Education Association.

Whether we edge ahead of Texas or not, it’s undeniable that Oklahoma is doing a lot better than it was on the important gauge of teacher pay, which is, a great start.

But the job is not finished. Other important metrics show that Oklahoma’s public schools remain underfunded in critical ways.

This year, the Legislature also increased appropriations to the school funding formula, which districts can use for other needs, including smaller class sizes, better pay for support personnel, restoring closed programs, increasing the number of school counselors and meeting the routine costs of running a school district.

No one knows the remaining needs better than Oklahoma school teachers, who can look out over a sea of children in their classrooms and recognize that they still need help.

The state has come a long way in the past two years. From here we have a choice: Continue pressing ahead or surrender (again) to the erosive effects of funding neglect.

We say: Forge ahead.

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