Articles by Sean Murphy, The Associated Press

Concerns Arise About How Oklahoma’s Opioid Settlement Money Will Be Used

Oklahoma’s legal fight against the opioid industry has racked up settlements and judgments of nearly $1 billion, but as the numbers keep rising, so do concerns over how that money will be spent. Experts say the $572 million judgment issued …

Oklahoma Lawmakers not so Happy About Purdue Pharma Settlement

A $270 million settlement between the state of Oklahoma and the maker of OxyContin praised last week as an innovative way to help combat opioid addiction is facing bipartisan criticism from Oklahoma lawmakers who say the state’s attorney general overstepped …

Oklahoma Quickly Becoming a Hotbed for Medical Marijuana

The rollout of statewide medical and recreational marijuana programs typically is a grindingly slow process that can take years. Not so in Oklahoma, which moved with lightning speed once voters approved medical cannabis in June. The ballot question received 57 …

Conservative States Like Oklahoma Balk at Voter-Approved Medical Marijuana

Pot advocates celebrated the culmination of a yearslong effort to ease restrictions on the use of cannabis last month when nearly 60 percent of Oklahoma voters approved medical marijuana. Oklahoma’s proponents had even included a two-month deadline for the implementation …

In Primary, Oklahoma Voters Back Proposed Medical Marijuana Law

Oklahoma voters on June 26 backed the medicinal use of marijuana, overcoming a late opposition campaign from law enforcement and business, faith and political leaders. State Question 788, the result of an activist-led signature drive launched more than two years …

Study Shows GOP Health Care Plan Could Cost Oklahoma Millions

A Republican plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system shows health care could become unaffordable for many poor Oklahomans and the state could be forced to subsidize health care costs for Native Americans, according to an early analysis of …

Oklahoma, EPA Shut Down 32 Wells Near Newly Discovered Fault Line

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake and a series of smaller aftershocks in Oklahoma led to the discovery of a new fault line and stoked fears among some scientists about activity along other unknown faults that could be triggered by oil and gas …

Changing Directions, Oklahoma Eyes Medicaid Expansion

Despite bitter resistance in Oklahoma for years to President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul, Republican leaders in this conservative state are now confronting something that alarms them even more: a huge $1.3 billion hole in the budget that threatens to do …

NBA’s Thunder Among Groups Opposing Oklahoma Gun Bills

Firearms bills to allow most Oklahoma adults to openly carry guns without any training or background checks have led to a showdown in Oklahoma between supporters of expanded gun rights and the state’s business community, including the NBA’s Oklahoma City …

Earthquakes May Be the ‘800-Pound Gorilla’ in Oklahoma Legislature

The power and frequency of earthquakes in Oklahoma have been increasing, but the Legislature has done little to try to curb the temblors that scientists have linked to the underground disposal of oil and gas drilling wastewater. That could change …