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Former Health Department Lawyer Accused Of Emailing Herself Threats Over Medical Marijuana

In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 file photo, Julie Ezell, speaks to the Oklahoma Board of Health in Oklahoma City.
Sue Ogrocki
/
AP Photo
In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 file photo, Julie Ezell, speaks to the Oklahoma Board of Health in Oklahoma City.

The former lawyer for the Oklahoma State Department of Health faces felony charges accusing her of sending herself threatening emails related to Oklahoma’s recently adopted medical marijuana rules.

Oklahoma County prosecutors filed three separate charges Tuesday against Julie Ezell. The criminal complaint accuses Ezell of sending threats to her own government email account earlier this month and reporting the threats to health department investigators.

Ezell did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Oklahoma State Department of Health declined to comment.

The complaint says Ezell admitted to sending the emails after state investigators examined her cell phone.

 

One of the emails contained Ezell’s home address and descriptions of the vehicles she drove, according to an affidavit signed by an agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Another email stated, “We will expose your corruption and evil. We would hate to hurt a pretty lady. You will hear us. We are just beginning,” the agent wrote in the affidavit.

Ezell is charged with preparing false evidence, falsely reporting a crime and using a computer to send falsely threatening emails.

Ezell resigned June 13 as general counsel for the state health department, three days after the board of health ignored her legal advice and approved two contentious amendments to the state’s first-ever medical marijuana regulations that banned the sale of smokable marijuana and require a pharmacist dispense the drug.

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Joe was a founding reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma (2011-2019) covering the intersection of economic policy, energy and environment, and the residents of the state. He previously served as Managing Editor of Urban Tulsa Weekly, as the Arts & Entertainment Editor at Oklahoma Gazette and worked as a Staff Writer for The Oklahoman. Joe was a weekly arts and entertainment correspondent for KGOU from 2007-2010. He grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Jackie reported for StateImpact Oklahoma on a variety of topics and led its health reporting initiative. She holds a bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing from Colorado State University and a Master of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder. When she's not reporting, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three cats.
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