Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), spent 34 years with the Maryland State Police working primarily in drug investigations. Franklin spoke earlier this month at a University of Oklahoma conference entitled, “The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration: Myths and Realities.” During an interview with Oklahoma Gazette, Franklin said state lawmakers […]
smoking
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Banned?
White asked Municipal Counselor Ken Jordan at a city council meeting to prepare a report about the possibility of outlawing the devices, which reportedly help people quit using tobacco products. White doesn’t believe the hype that e-cigarettes will eliminate the desire to smoke. “It’s a tobacco product and another path to addiction,” he said. “The […]
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Bad aim
Illustration: Brad Gregg OK, so drugs play a part in it, too. Ada woman Christie Dawn Harris sent the Internet into one of its tee-hee tizzies in March, when it was reported that while she was under arrest for meth, police officer Kathy Unbewust noticed, per her report, “a wooden and metal item sticking out […]
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The good, the bad and the goofy
In other words: situation normal. Thirty-six months from now, you’ll enjoy an average tax reduction of 35 cents a day. Gov. Mary Fallin says that is necessary for Oklahoma to be more attractive to business decision-makers. Thirty-five cents daily more in our pockets with an effective date of 2016 doesn’t meet the smell test. Regardless, […]
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Out of shape
Credit: Brad Gregg According to the American Fitness Index compiled by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), OKC is the least fit city in the U.S. The. Least. Fit. According to the annual survey, Minneapolis is the healthiest city, based on the overall general wellness of its people and a wealth of other factors, […]
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Smoke up
Credit: Brad Gregg Current statute pre-empts municipalities from enacting smoking ordinances stricter than what state law has enacted. The measure to repeal that preemption was strongly backed by Gov. Mary Fallin, who had made it a key part of her legislative agenda. Sen. Rob Johnson, R-Kingfisher, headed much of the committee debate against the measure. […]
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Up in smoke
On a 6-2 vote, the Senate General Government Committee rejected Senate Bill 36, which sought to repeal the state pre-emption law that supersedes local governments. SB 36 was referred to that panel after Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, had declined to grant a hearing on the legislation. […]
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Tobacco road
Credit: Mark Hancock Currently, Oklahoma and Tennessee are the only states that fully bar local governments from ordinances that restrict tobacco. And therein lies the rub. State Health Commissioner Terry Cline is on the side of local control. “We expect big opposition from this multibillion[-dollar] industry,” he said. “There are plenty of paid tobacco lobbyists […]
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State of health
Perhaps not coincidentally, it is among the bottom tier of states for health coverage. Families USA, a health care consumer advocacy group, lists Oklahoma as among the top 10 states “dying for health coverage.” According to Gallup, about 22 percent of all Oklahomans are uninsured, making it the 47th worst state in the nation, in […]
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Same old story
Or, to be politically correct, you’re “unhealthy.” That’s according to a recent report by the American College of Sports Medicine. Its survey mapped a variety of factors — how many people are obese, how many are smokers, how many exercise facilities there are, etc. — to rank the fitness of 50 U.S. cities, from best to […]