By Bill Carey
FireRescue1 Staff
TULSA, Okla. — The union representing Tulsa firefighters says its members should have the ability to use medicinal marijuana to relieve pain and other job-related stress.
Tulsa Firefighters Local 176 Union President Matt Lay said that firefighters had been discussing the issue of medical marijuana and pain prescriptions, Fox 23 reported.
“Originally, it was brought to us by a lot of service members that talked about being able to move away from Schedule 2 narcotics and a litany of prescriptions they were on, using cannabis-based products,” Lay said.
[POLL: 76% say firefighters should be allowed to use medical marijuana – just not on duty]
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said the city must be cautious and deliberate in discussing allowing the use of medical marijuana.
“The dosages are not federally regulated in the way that, say, any, pretty much any other medication you would take, and that we would allow employees to take, would be regulated. And so, when you are talking about hundreds of firefighters who are responsible for the lives and safety of hundreds of thousands of people, I am not going to rush in and just do something and hope that it works for the best, Bynum said.
The union has researched the issue for the last five years since medical marijuana was legalized in Oklahoma.
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