Commentary
Posted inNews
Commentary: Clearing smoke
Nearly a year ago, just before passage of State Question 788, I wrote an article in Oklahoma Gazette about the historic demonization of cannabis and how political and industrial forces conspired to destroy the market for the plant. Many industrialists and their political allies, including major timber, agricultural and chemical interests, aligned against cannabis to […]
Posted inNews
Commentary: ‘Open-carry hate’
This month, as Oklahoma City observed the 24th anniversary of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing, it became clear that disinformation about this mass murder has thrived around us. As the city mourned April 19, Twitter users that we used to call fringe-dwellers until their malevolence was mainstreamed were out in full force. A […]
Posted inNews
Commentary: Getting clean
Purdue Pharmaceuticals, the company currently paying dues for the severity and scale of the current nationwide opioid epidemic, recently settled a lawsuit with the state of Oklahoma. The terms of the settlement include Purdue’s payment of $270 million to be used for research on addiction, particularly concerning opioids. This case is the first of its […]
Posted inNews
Commentary: Unbridled hate
Oklahoma Senate Bill 361 claims to “protect free speech” on Oklahoma’s public college campuses by requiring administrators to allow all lawful expressions of speech — regardless of content — while simultaneously forbidding any responsive protests or opposition. The bill passed the state Senate March 13 on a 36-9 vote and has now been referred to […]
