Dean 'Frank' Grove, of The Drug Policy Reform Network, was one of the editors of the language in SQ788.
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Frank Grove, discussed the language and intent of State Questions 788 on the Pat Campbell Radio Show, Monday morning. The 30 minute segment covered many of the reasons behind the bill, including Mr. Grove's own father's battle with brain cancer and the hopeful research which includes a therapeutic neurological indicator of cannabinoids.
Grove's father's struggle has prompted him to devote himself to education & research. He is a graduate of the University of Tulsa. Grove was a Republican since his teen years, but has recently switched to the Libertarian Party, partly because of drug & health policy. |
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Groves explains the many states' efforts to adopt Cannabis and some of the lessons learned from other states. He insists that the Oklahoma measure provides a starting point for healthy oversight without over-burdensome restrictions on how a doctor cares for a patient. Grove & other members of the Drug Policy Reform Network will be at the Oklahoma Capitol on Thursday to brief lawmakers on the state question and to hear their concerns for making the policies better.
Mr. Grove was one of the speakers at the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly, in January. He took on the issue of why it's important to avoid the excessive restrictions a few other states put on physicians. Given the fact that liquor is a higher risk drug, it seems irrational to expend massive state govt. resources on telling doctors that the State Health Department knows more than all the board-certified medical specialists.
Most of the 29 other states which let doctors utilize Cannabinoids are finding it to be less costly and more therapeutic for those patients who incorporate it under a physician's advice & supervision. Among Grove's arguments is the point that prohibition has never really worked well, except to enrich the cartels. It was true of liquor and it's true of Cannabis. It only leads to wealthy organized crime syndicates and violence used to enforce territorial claims. He points out that each of the 29 other states which has incorporated this basic drug reform has seen;
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Some of the biggest proponents of medical Cannabis are the thousands of military veterans seeking help for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from our past 17 years of active war. The Veterans Hospitals are treating the severe cases with highly addictive Benzodiazepine tranquilizers. That class of drug is very debilitating and expensive.
The vast majority of those veterans who traveled to Colorado for medical testing with Cannabis products are reporting significant improvement and an expectation that they can resume productive employment if that form of treatment becomes possible in Oklahoma. Navy Veteran, Cody Barlow, shared his story with KOTV News, last month. |
