Marijuana Advocate Pushes For Legalization In Oklahoma

Oklahoma authorities fear more marijuana will likely end up in the state as legal marijuana stores open in Colorado. It is the first state in the nation to allow retail pot shops.

Organizers of Colorado's campaign to legalize marijuana expect almost $400-million in sales this year alone and say it will create jobs, tax revenue, and reduce crime. Back here at home, an advocate who has been pushing for the legalization of pot for 26 years says this is good news for Oklahoma. 

"I think it will show us that it can be done and the sky won't fall," said Norma Sapp.  

There aren't many Oklahomans more passionate about the legalization of marijuana than Sapp.

"It's a plant. We should not have a plant being illegal. God made plants," said Sapp.

Norma has been an advocate for changes in Oklahoma's marijuana laws since 1989, and 26 years later, still nothing.

"When you have a felony conviction, it ruins your life," said Sapp. "You're never going to reach your potential. Your children are never going to have what they could have had. It's embarrassing."

Seeing lines of people at pot shops after Colorado's historical legalization of the drug gives Sapp hope.

"They have freedom, and the world will see that it's not going to hurt anything. Nothing is going to change," said Sapp.

A spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics says Oklahoma will likely see more marijuana because of the Colorado law change.  According to OBN, Oklahoma saw a boost in marijuana activity after Colorado legalized medical marijuana back in 2010.

"You can go to the store right now, spend 99 cents on a bottle of aspirin and kill yourself. Marijuana will not…hurt you," said Sapp.

In Colorado, Marijuana buyers must be 21 and it can't be smoked in public places. You can only purchase up to an ounce a day per transaction. Non-residents are restricted to a quarter-ounce and can't take it out of state.