We have good news for pregnant women who want to jeopardize the health and safety of their unborn fetuses!
Late last week, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that prohibits overzealous, anti-marijuana DAs from charging (most) women for child neglect if their newborn infants test positive for marijuana.
The gist is that Oklahoma statutes give DAs the power to charge women if their babies test positive for “controlled dangerous substances” and “illegal drugs.” However, since marijuana is a “medicine” that can be legally purchased with a medical card, and doesn’t fall into either of those categories, it’s fine.
Via KOCO:
A recent ruling from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals says pregnant women using marijuana with a medical marijuana card cannot be prosecuted for child neglect.
The court says women with a medical card are using the drug legally, therefore they cannot be charged.
The ruling comes after a felony case in Kay County where a pregnant woman using marijuana was charged with neglect. The judge, however, dismissed the case for a lack of evidence.
The case was then appealed to the highest criminal court in the state, which made it clear in the ruling that it is not illegal because the marijuana was used as medicine.
As a man who will never experience the pain and emotional baggage of having a human grow inside me, I don't have super strong opinions on this. It should probably be up to the mom whether she and the little Cheech or Chong inside her get high.
That being said, I'd caution against it.
It is widely accepted that cannabis can affect brain development, and at last check, the brains of human fetuses are still developing. That can't be good. Plus, if you think the regular munchies are bad, just wait until you’re eating for two!
Either way, I agree with the court’s decision.
They are right – marijuana is a legal medicinal product in Oklahoma, and if the tele-doc a woman talks to for 30 seconds on a Zoom call says she can use medical marijuana while pregnant and risk the health of her unborn child, then we need to respect that.
That’s not the only reason.
Like most Oklahoma criminal statutes that are inspired by sanctimonious moralistic crusades, the law appears to be applied both selectively and subjectively.
For example, most of the charges that were filed against pregnant women have come from this guy – Kay County DA Brian Hermanson.
Geeze. I bet Brian wishes his mom got high while carrying him. Maybe then he wouldn't be such a boring authoritarian square!
There’s also a slippery slope element to this.
If we crack down on Oklahoma women getting high while pregnant, what are we going to do next? Go after their booze, or even worse, ban pregnant women from smoking?! If that happens, the State Fair of Oklahoma may go out of business!
Although pregnant women in Oklahoma are able to get themselves and their fetuses high at the moment, in the future, they may have to get up and stand up for their right to continue.
The Supreme Court of Appeals provided some pointers for moral crusading lawmakers who want to Bogart any expecting mother’s joint.
“For us to find that Aguilar’s marijuana use, fully authorized by her medical marijuana card, became illegal due to her pregnancy, would require us to rewrite the statutes in a way we simply do not think is appropriate for courts to do,” the majority wrote. “We urge the Legislature to consider an addition to the law making clear when, if ever, the licensed use of marijuana may constitute child neglect under 10A O.S.Supp.2019, § 1-1-105(48)(b)(1).”
Uhm, I thought the judicial branch was supposed to be fair and impartial. If so, why are they “urging” moralist Oklahoma lawmakers to make it easier to crack down on pregnant stoners? That would be like “urging” Ryan Walters to film a video in his car. I think they’ll figure it out.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
