April 22, 2009 - 2009 GLOBAL MARIJUANA MARCH Tulsa will be part of the Marijuana March on May 2, 2009. The march begins and Centennial Greens Park at 6th and Main in downtown Tulsa at 2:00 p.m. For more information contact Jon Poyner at legalizetulsa@gmail.com.
March 27, 2009 - The next meeting of Tulsa NORML is scheduled for April 15, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St., Tulsa, Oklahoma.
March 3, 2009 - The Pew Center on the States has recently released a report about incarceration rates in the United States. This report shows for the first time in the history of the United States 1 out of 100 adults in America are now incarcerated. During my 2008 campaign for the State House of Representatives, I warned that the incarceration rate was going to continue to rise and that there was no way the State of Oklahoma was going to be able to afford such a high incarceration rate. Some people understood my warning, but some people wanted to argue with me about this fact. Click here to read about this new report. There is also a link to the complete report.
February 24, 2009 - The next meeting of Tulsa NORML is schedule for March 18, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E 93rd St., Tulsa, Oklahoma.
February 19, 2009 - A recent public opinion poll shows 44 percent of the voters in the United States support taxing and regulating cannabis like alcohol and tobacco. The percentage is even higher with voters on the West Coast. See story here.
January 2, 2009 - A new local chapter of NORML is getting started. Tulsa NORML has met a few times and is trying to get organized and get more people in the Tulsa area involved in the reform of marijuana laws. The next meeting is scheduled for January 21, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E 93rd St
Tulsa, Oklahoma. For more information contact me or go to the Tulsa NORML website by clicking the link above.
November 5, 2008 - My campaign for Oklahoma State House District 66 was not successful. I received 27.18% of the vote. Actually, this was not too bad as I was running against a popular incumbent that already had $170,000.00 in his campaign account when the campaign began. However, there was a major win for those that believe in marijuana law reform. Massachusetts voters passed a law making possession of less than an ounce of marijuana punishable by a civil fine of $100.00. Currently, about one-fourth of the states in the United States punish possession of small amounts of marijuana only with a fine.
October 1, 2008 - The Tulsa World endorses my opponent. Nothing shocking or surprising about the endorsement. What is shocking and suprising is the bias and unfairness of this editorial. Here we go again with the media mentioning the ONLY thing about me is my membership with the NORML legal committee as if marijuana is all my life is and has been about.
September 19, 2008 - The Daily Oklahoman ran an article about the District 66 race.
June 14, 2008 - Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Jason Wayne Henry received a light slap on the wrist for pleading no contest in a domestic violence case. He was sentenced to a 60-day deferred sentence and, amazingly, was not fired from his job. I have been an attorney for 8 years and have never seen such a light sentence for any "common" citizen charged with domestic violence. Even if a deferred sentence can be negotiated with the State in a domestic violence case for a "common" citizen, it is always for a term of 1 year. I have never seen a domestic violence case reduced to simple assault and battery for a "common citizen." Upon my own investigation of the court records, I learned much more that the news media is not reporting. Trooper Henry was originally arrested for and charged with Domestic Assault and Battery, Obstructing an Officer and Public Intoxication. The Obstructing and Public Intoxication were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Furthermore, shortly after the Trooper was arrested he was released on a personal recognizance bond. This means he was released without having to post any bond at all. This is outrageous. In Tulsa County for domestic violence cases, bonds are set so high that the "common" citizens can rarely afford them and end up staying in jail until their case is resolved. The treatment this Trooper received when compared to that of those citizens that are arrested for domestic violence and are not members of law enforcement is an outrage. See original story here.
June 4, 2008 - The city of Sand Springs, Oklahoma is within Oklahoma State House District 66. Read how the Sand Springs Leader has covered my filing as a candidate for this office here. NORML has also covered my candidacy. You can read the original Sand Springs Leader article as well as NORML's comments here.
June 3, 2008 - Today, I filed my candidacy for the Oklahoma State House District 66 election. The incumbent Lucky Lamons (D) has not had an opponent in the last two elections cycles that I have lived in the district. Therefore, one of the reasons I decided to run was to give the voters in district 66 the opportunity to have a Republican to vote for. If elected to this position, I plan to continue to stand up for civil rights and civil liberties and will continue to strongly support the rights given to the people by the United States and Oklahoma Constitutions.
May 21, 2008 - I wrote a guest editoral for Urban Tulsa Weekly regarding how the federal government waste tax-payer's money and government resources on the war on drugs. Read the complete article here.
May 7, 2008 - It seems that Blackwell police officer John Mitchell enjoys pepper spraying and beating citizens for no apparent reason. Click here to watch the Youtube video of this out of control thug stopping and beating a teenager for no apparent reason. In this second video, the thug pepper sprays and beats a man for no apparent reason.
April 16, 2008 - Custer County Sheriff Michael Burgess has been charged with 35 felony counts, most of them sex crimes. The sheriff is accused of operating a sex-slave operation from his jail. See complete story here.
April 14, 2008 - I will be out of the office from Friday, April 18, 2007 and will return to his office on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. I will attend the 8th Annual Public Defender Las Vegas Retreat "Journey to Justice." This is a two day legal seminar featuring presentations from some of the best criminal defense attorneys from around the United States. As always, I can be reached on my cell phone when I am away from the office. The number is 918-261-7508.
April 10, 2008 - A former Kay County sheriff's deputy was sentenced in federal court to 17.5 years in prison on a child pornography charge. See complete story here.
