A former Democratic state legislator who ran for governor in 2014 is spearheading an effort launched Monday to let voters decide whether to allow medical marijuana in Oklahoma.

Former state Rep. Joe Dorman is a board member of the group Oklahomans for Health, which filed an initiative petition with the secretary of state’s office to begin gathering signatures to place the proposal on the ballot in November.

After a review of the petition is complete, the group will have 90 days to gather about 66,000 signatures from registered voters to get the proposal on the ballot.

Dorman said he was motivated in part by his experience working with cancer patients who benefited from using marijuana, but were unable to do so legally.

“I want to encourage people to keep an open mind about this proposal,” said Dorman, a Democrat from Rush Springs who ran against Gov. Mary Fallin in 2014. “I certainly trust doctors and health care providers to offer the proper medication for treatment over bureaucrats and politicians.” [Read more at KOCO.com]