Supporters of an initiative petition that would legalize medical marijuana in Oklahoma delivered boxes of signatures to the Secretary of State’s office Thursday, but they aren’t sure if they have enough signatures to put the measure on November’s ballot.
The group Oklahomans for Health needs nearly 66,000 signatures. Chip Paul is a medical researcher and co-chair of the organization. He says at last count - about a week and a half ago – volunteers had 50,000 and continued to gather signatures right up to the deadline.
“We’re going to be just right at the number,” Paul says. “It may be that we’re over the number and it may be that we’re just under the number. We really don’t know. It’s that close.”
The Secretary of State’s office will count and verify the signatures. Former state Rep. and 2014 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Joe Dorman, who is also part of the campaign, says the group is cautious, but hopeful.
“We’re flying blind because we stopped counting and scanning over the weekend, just making sure everything was processed,” Dorman says. “So we’re optimistic just based on rough numbers what was coming in.”
Dorman says if the group doesn’t meet the threshold, he expects another effort in 2018.
Raymond Jennings is a stage four cancer survivor from Broken Arrow, and he has been supporting the initiative petition. He was in incredible pain and discomfort during his chemotherapy treatment in 2014, and his sons begged him to try marijuana.
“Finally I relented one morning when they were standing beside my bed,” Jennings says. “I had a feeding tube sticking out of my chest because I couldn’t eat or drink anything. The radiation burned me so bad I had 35 radiation treatments, inside and out. It was horrific. I remember smoking a little bit of that marijuana and my nausea completely settled down.”
Jennings later bought cannabidiol, or CBD, oil in Colorado, which he applied to tumors on his tongue. He credits the CBD oil for his recovery.
“I would like to sit down with [Attorney General] Scott Pruitt, who’s from my home town, who I voted for, and [Governor] Mary Fallin, who I voted for, and have this conversation with them,” Jennings says.
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