Episode 31: Elizabeth Nichols on medical cannabis and SQ 788

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For this episode, we spoke with Elizabeth Nichols, an attorney who has worked extensively with the emerging cannabis industry in Oklahoma and nearby states. With Oklahomans voting in just two weeks on State Question 788 to legalize medical cannabis, Nichols shared her perspective on how the medical cannabis industry is developing in other states, what she sees as the best models for implementing medical cannabis in Oklahoma, and what she expects from the SQ 788 vote on June 26.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gene Perry worked for OK Policy from 2011 to 2019. He is a native Oklahoman and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in history and an M.A. in journalism.

6 thoughts on “Episode 31: Elizabeth Nichols on medical cannabis and SQ 788

  1. will this be a cash based ? or will this be funded ? are you speaking federal dollars ? how do you get around the federal laws? when you fronting federal dollars ?

  2. no one mentioned the dollar factor here ? wheres the financing coming from ? and if this is federal dollars how are you getting around federl laws ? is not that against the law and a bit deceptive ?

  3. We have a grandson with Epilepsy that may very well benefit from this law. The use of cannabis for medical purposes
    is being considered throughout the world as well as multiple states in the US. Does Oklahoma have to be last in everything because of a few naysayers.

  4. for medical use (oil) only.
    no more smoking to ruin your lungs and those around you lungs?
    no eating, or smoking it to get high.
    no consumer needs to grow plants, or carry it on them unless it’s in pill, or oil (medicine) form. (don’t drug lords make their own drugs)
    bill as it is now is a big thumbs down for me.
    a defiant defined bill for medical use i’m in favor of, not let’s change law by the seat of our pant’s on the fly, we’ll fund it to what legislature can get the most profit out of the bill.
    Oklahoma get it together, every bill that passes, Oklahoma government will change it and twist it, deaf ears to Oklahoma citizens. present a decent bill to vote on.

  5. This issue is also about freedom of choice. In this country we are given the choice to do many things that are extremely deleterious to our health and safety. People are allowed to purchase military style weapons, 40 round magazines, and thousands of rounds of ammo. Then we are allowed to stop at a liquor store and purchase a 5th of whiskey. Then we are allowed to stop and purchase a carton of cigarettes. These things bring untold pain, injury, and death. So be it. The opponents of medical cannabis arguments sound somewhat specious to me. One could ask who is financing this opposition. There efforts might be better spent in reducing the deleterious effects of guns, liquor and smokes. An effort to reduce just the overuse of smoking and liquor by 10% would prevent the pain, injury, and death of thousands. The howling about the legalization of medical cannabis in this light seems quite hollow.

  6. I am 72 years old and have severe degenerative arthritis. I am in constant pain as nerves are being impinged and bone is resting on bone in many joints and in my spine. I have muscle spasms that keep me awake at night and have caused me to take several hard falls causing several bone fractures. Right now, my choice is to use medications for pain that are addictive, are destroying my liver and kidneys and are potentially fatal from organ damage or from accidental overdose. No one has been able to give me one good reason why medical cannabis should not be available to me. I can buy tobacco even though more than 400,000 people in the US die each year from tobacco related causes. I can buy alcohol even though more than 75,000 people die in US every year from alcohol related causes. Over 70,000 people die in the US each year from drug use, many started by prescription drugs that I have sitting on my counter right now. Who is so wise as to tell me that I cannot legally use cannabis for pain and spasm relief when it would be safer than anything I have been prescribed up until now? What a bunch of hypocrites. Hopefully, Oklahomans will see through all of the lies and hypocrisy and vote to allow patients like myself will be given this choice.

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