A petition that is attempting to legalize medical marijuana is gaining momentum as the deadline for petition signatures approaches. The petition, organized by Oklahomans for Change and Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign, will need 66,000 valid signatures by Thursday, which is the deadline for filing for the November election.

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Studies have shown that medical marijuana effectively helps control nausea for cancer patients who are going through chemotherapy, and is also effective in helping to treat Alzheimers, epilepsy and PTSD. Many Psychologists believe their patients can benefit from medical marijuana also, replacing highly addictive pills that are used in treating anxiety disorders.

Law enforcement agencies across the state are debating the subject, deciding if the pros outweigh the cons for legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. One of the hurdles most commonly mentioned would be the ability to identify a legal, medicinal use as opposed to those who use simply for recreation. Lt. John Beyers of the Duncan Police department states that identification would be the biggest issue, but that it's just a hurdle that would have to be gotten over, and something they'd learn to manage. He also stated there would be a definite learning curve if it is legalaized.

Signing a Petition
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Volunteers who have been gathering signatures at Memorial Park in Duncan, will continue getting signatures on the petition today and tomorrow from 8AM until 8PM. 66,000 signatures are required to get the initiative on the ballot, and officials state that over 50,000 have been collected to date. Oklahomans for Change is running their campaign parallel to that of Oklahoman’s for Health, who also have another petition. At last count, that organization had between 8,000 and 10,000 on their petition.

Under the proposals, the state would receive a 7% tax on all medical marijuana sales. If the proposal does make it to the ballot, and it's approved, Oklahoma would become the 26 state to have medical marijuana legalized.

If you would like to sign the petition, in Lawton, you can go to Shine On Tattoo (6516 NW Cache Rd), Bone Deep (3132 NW Cache Rd), Curious Goods (1125 NW Ferris Rd), Central Ink (212 SW C Ave), the Comanche County Democratic Party (610 SW Lee Blvd), and the Broken Coil Vapor Bar (1235 SW Sheridan Rd).

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