Oklahoma Voters Reject Full Legalization Of Marijuana

The New York Times: With a Marijuana Shop on ‘Every Corner,’ Oklahoma Rejects Full Legalization
In the past few years, Oklahoma, long a solid bastion of conservatism, has quietly undergone a street-level transformation when it comes to marijuana. Dispensaries dot the landscape, with more than 400 in Oklahoma City alone. And that’s just for medical marijuana. On Tuesday, voters across Oklahoma opted against going further, according to The Associated Press, rejecting a ballot initiative that would have legalized recreational marijuana use by adults 21 and over. With the vote, Oklahoma joined a number of conservative states whose voters have recently decided against recreational marijuana legalization. (Goodman, 3/7)

Politico: ‘Tokelahoma’ At The Crossroads
Johnny Teehee was sworn in as police chief of Muskogee in the summer of 2018, barely three weeks after the state passed a referendum legalizing medical marijuana. Nearly five years later, as he patrols the city, he is overwhelmed by the transformation weed has wrought on this struggling eastern Oklahoma town. A block away from the First Baptist Church of Muskogee, where Teehee is a parishioner, is a marijuana grow operation occupying what used to be the central post office. A plot of land Teehee bought with the intention of one day building a house on it now sits next to a 10-acre weed farm. Dispensaries are everywhere — The Treehouse, Big Pappa’s, Blaze-n-Bake, Natural Grass, Johnny D’s. At 420 Main St. in downtown Muskogee is a weed shop emblazoned with a giant mural featuring the likenesses of Merle Haggard and Bob Marley. “We do smoke marijuana in Muskogee,” it proclaims, cheekily refuting the opening line of Haggard’s 1969 redneck anthem “Okie from Muskogee.” (Demko, 3/7)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

AP: NC Senate Considers Stiffer Penalties For Drug Distribution 
As fentanyl overdoses continue to plague communities across North Carolina, the state Senate is considering legislation to increase punishments for drug dealers whose distribution of the synthetic opioid results in an overdose death. A bill that advanced Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee would revise state laws to create high-grade felony offenses for deaths caused by distributing certain controlled substances and doing so with malice. It would also increase fine amounts for trafficking heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil, setting a sliding scaled based on drug quantity. (Schoenbaum, 3/7)

The Colorado Sun: 80% Of Local Governments Opted Out Of Colorado’s Paid Family Leave
So far, more than 1,250 local governments have opted out of the contentious Colorado program requiring employers to provide paid family and medical leave. That number stands to grow as the new March 31 deadline to opt out approaches. (Chuang, 3/7)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Lawmakers Approve Gender-Affirming Care Ban For Transgender Youth
Transgender kids in Iowa would no longer be able to access gender-affirming healthcare under a bill passed Tuesday by the Iowa Senate. Senate File 538 would prohibit Iowa doctors from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries to a transgender person younger than 18. (Akin, 3/7)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Senate Votes To Restrict School Bathroom Use For Trans Students
Transgender students would not be allowed to use bathrooms in elementary and secondary schools that align with their gender identity under a bill passed Tuesday by the Iowa Senate. Senate File 482 prohibits people from entering a school restroom or changing room that does not align with their sex at birth. Students would need parental consent to request a special accommodation, such as using a faculty or single-occupancy restroom. (Akin, 3/7)

Anchorage Daily News: Dunleavy Education Bills Would Restrict Sex Ed, Offer Teacher Bonuses
While education advocates continue to call for increased funding to go directly to Alaska public school districts, Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday introduced education policy proposals that would limit sexual education and the rights of gender non-conforming students in public schools. “There should never be a case where a parent sends their kid to school, and the child comes back having discussions about things they learned in school that may be a sensitive issue or an affront to a parent’s values,” Dunleavy, a Republican, said while surrounded by a gaggle of conservative education advocates and children on Tuesday. (Samuels and Maguire, 3/7)

Chicago Tribune and ProPublica: The Federal Government Is Investigating An Illinois School That Often Had Students With Disabilities Arrested 
The U.S. Department of Education has opened a civil rights investigation into a tiny Illinois school district for students with disabilities to determine whether children enrolled there have been denied an appropriate education because of the “practice of referring students to law enforcement for misbehaviors.” (Richards and Cohen, 3/8)

The Hill: EPA Watchdog Knocks Trump Officials Over Weakened Assessment For Toxic Chemical 
The Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog on Tuesday knocked a Trump-era move in which political officials weakened an assessment on the dangers of a toxic chemical. The Office of the EPA’s Inspector General issued a new report that stated political appointees used a last-minute disagreement to take the “unprecedented” step of listing a range of values for the toxicity of a chemical known as PFBS instead of a definitive toxicity level. (Frazin, 3/7)

KHN: California Offers Bipartisan Road Map For Protecting Kids Online Even As Big Tech Fights Back 
In California, a Democrat and a Republican figured out how to pass the country’s toughest online privacy law protecting kids. If their experience is any indication, though, federal legislators can expect fierce pushback from Big Tech if they heed President Joe Biden’s call for similar action on a national scale. The law, modeled after legislation in the United Kingdom, will ban websites from profiling users in California under age 18, tracking their locations, or nudging them to provide personal information. It will also require online services to automatically put privacy settings at their highest levels on sites that kids access when the law goes into effect next year. (Kreidler, 3/8)