STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 54th Legislature (2013)

HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION 1001	By:	Enns

AS INTRODUCED

A Concurrent Resolution opposing the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana for medical or recreational use in the State of Oklahoma.

WHEREAS, marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; and
WHEREAS, marijuana use among teens is thought to be more widespread than alcohol use according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse; and
WHEREAS, surveys reflect that approximately twenty-one percent (21%) of high school seniors have used marijuana in the past thirty (30) days and nineteen percent (19%) smoked cigarettes according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse; and
WHEREAS, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that approximately one in six people who start using marijuana as a teen become addicted and twenty-five to fifty percent (25-50%) of those who use marijuana every day become addicted; and
WHEREAS, marijuana is the most common illegal drug found in drivers who die in automobile accidents according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse; and
WHEREAS, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that according to the latest treatment data, marijuana accounts for seventeen percent (17%) of admissions to treatment facilities in the United States which is second only to opiates among illicit substances; and
WHEREAS, states that have passed medical marijuana legislation have seen teenage marijuana use increase by as much as thirty-three percent (33%) according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse; and
WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies in states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal use report widespread fraud and abuse by businesses that sell medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use are in direct violation of federal law and conflict with the laws of neighboring states; and
WHEREAS, recreational and medical marijuana users from Colorado are frequently arrested for transporting marijuana into Oklahoma and will continue to be arrested by law enforcement if caught transporting the substance into Oklahoma.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 1ST SESSION OF THE 54TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN:
THAT the Oklahoma Legislature opposes any efforts to legalize or decriminalize marijuana because experts agree and recent history has shown that such laws lead to an increase in drug use, an increase in opportunities for crime through fraud and abuse by businesses that sell marijuana, and sends a message to our youth that smoking marijuana is medicinal and thus, not harmful.

54-1-5151	GRS	01/08/13