Let's start things on a positive note – we only have six more months of Mary Fallin as Governor.
Yesterday morning, I spent a couple hours working on an article where I begged Mary Fallin not to sign the Oklahoma Board of Health’s overreaching and authoritarian changes to SQ 788. In the piece, I was going to make a desperate plea for Mary to save some face, repair what's left of her tarnished legacy, and end her term on a literal high note by simply respecting the will of the Oklahoma people.
Well, that was a complete waste of time.
Instead of showing leadership and resolve and giving the finger to the authoritarian puppet masters who have led her down every wrong road during her eight year reign as Governor, Mary Fallin did the exact opposite and predictably signed the Board of Health's emergency recommendations into law.
Here are some of the fun details via The Tulsa World:
Amid ongoing threats of legal challenges to emergency rules approved by the state Board of Health, Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday signed off on the temporary new regulations for State Question 788.
She conceded that she expects modifications to occur in the future on an issue that is “uncharted territory” for the state.
The board, in a 5-4 vote, authorized a last-minute amendment that bans the sale of smokable products and requires that a pharmacist be on staff at dispensaries. It did so against the advice of the state Health Department’s general counsel, Julie Ezell, who warned that the amendments could be the catalyst for litigation due to the text of the ballot measure that passed June 26.
“I know some citizens are not pleased with these actions. But I encourage everyone to approach this effort in a constructive fashion in order to honor the will of the citizens of Oklahoma who want a balanced and responsible medical marijuana law,” Fallin said in a statement.
The pure idiocy of this lady never surprised me.
First of all, I'm pretty sure 508,000 citizens voted for "a balanced and responsible medical marijuana" law on June 26th. Maybe Mary missed that side-note while getting another eye lift.
Second, you "encourage everyone to approach this effort in a constructive fashion," but then turn around and vaporize the intent of the law in a destructive fashion like it was a fresh flower in a Volcano. Not only does that make you an asshole, but also a hypocrite.
SQ 788 was very, very, very clear that "smokable marijuana" was allowed, and banning it in dispensaries goes against the spirit and intent of the law. Next week, expect Mary Fallin to issue an emergency rule that mandates cold high-point beer sold in grocery and liquor stores can't be refrigerated below 80-degrees come October.
Anyway, I guess the next step in this unnecessary saga is probably a lawsuit or two challenging the blatant overstep of power by Mary and the Board of Health. Although it may take a while to navigate the courts, the outlook for that is decent. Authoritarian asshats in Florida tried similar stunts that went against the will of the people, and those restrictions were recently shot down by the courts.
Also, there are a couple of additional SQ petition drives making the rounds. They would amend the Oklahoma constitution to legalize all forms of recreational marijuana, and prevent control freaks like Mary Fallin and the Oklahoma Board of Health from undoing the will of the Oklahoma people. Find one to sign today.
