If anyone would have suggested a year ago that Ohio might be on the verge of legalizing marijuana in 2015, I would have laughed at the idea.
First, Ohio is a conservative Midwestern state that is seldom, if ever, on the cutting edge on social issues. And second, 2015 is an off-year election, with no statewide or federal elections, meaning the voter turn-out would be lower and the likely voters would be older and less supportive than would be the case if the proposal were on the ballot in 2016, a presidential election year when younger voters turn out in far higher numbers.
But it turns out that Ohio voters may well be voting on marijuana legalization this November. And the circumstances surrounding this development raise new issues that legalization activists are struggling to deal with. The proposed constitutional amendment, called the Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative, sponsored by a group calling itself Responsible Ohio, would legalize both the medical and the recreational use of marijuana.
We have a scarcity of polling data that would indicate whether the voters in Ohio currently support marijuana legalization. A Quinnipiac University poll taken in 2014 found strong support for medical marijuana, and an almost even split (51 percent support) over full legalization. One can presume the sponsors of this initiative must have done their own private polling, but if so, they have not shared the results.
Investor Driven Voter Initiatives
But what is unique about this effort is that it is being funded by a few rich private investors who, under the terms of the proposed initiative, would then own the 10 specific cultivation centers around the state authorized to cultivate marijuana commercially. In other words, those investors who provide the funding to gather the required number of signatures, and to run a professional statewide campaign, would be richly rewarded for their investment, assuming the initiative is approved by a majority of the voters.
Individuals would be permitted to cultivate up to four marijuana plants privately, and retail dispensary licenses would be open for all to apply for licenses, but the commercial cultivation would be limited to what the Rand Corporation has described as a “structured oligopoly.”
As might be expected, this proposal, which would enshrine this special privilege for these investors in the state constitution, has met with some cries of outrage from some in the Buckeye state, both legalization activists and the state legislature.
Some activists have raised objections to the proposal because it would not permit average Ohioans to compete for the commercial cultivation licenses, although ordinary citizens would be entitled to apply for licenses for the more than 1,000 retail dispensaries that would be authorized, claiming it is undemocratic. Some opponents have even argued it would be worse than the current prohibition — despite the fact that roughly 17,000 marijuana arrests occur each year in Ohio, and those arrests would largely be eliminated if this initiative were to pass.
The Legislature Inserts Itself In The Fight
But the situation in Ohio has become even more confusing because of the action of the Ohio legislature, in response to the filing of the Responsible Ohio initiative. The legislature has elected to use an option available to them (they are permitted this option by their state constitution, without the need to collect signatures) of adding a second voter initiative to the ballot this November that, if approved by the voters, they believe would render the Responsible Ohio proposal invalid. The proposal would ban the adoption by voter initiative of attempts to benefit select economic interest groups.
The sponsor of this initiative, Democratic House member Mike Curtin, said he sponsored what he called his “anti-monoply” measue, not because he opposes the legalization of marijuana, but because he opposed the way Responsible Ohio is using the ballot measure to enrich themselves.
What If Both Initiatives Are Approved
Should the Responsible Ohio initiative be approved for the ballot, which is not yet certain (they recently turned in 695,273 signatures, more than double the 305,591 signatures required; but the Secretary of State’s office determined that only 42 percent of those were valid signatures, an unheard of failure rate, leaving them 29,509 signatures short, and 10 days to make-up the deficit), then the confusion really kicks-in.
Ohio law appears to say if the two initiatives both pass, then the one with the highest number of votes would become effective. But Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican who opposed legalization, has announced his opinion that should the legislative proposal pass, it would take effect 30 days earlier than the citizen initiative, and would thus block the other proposal from taking effect. The only certainty is that should both initiatives pass, and the citizen initiative receive the higher total of votes, this is an issue that will eventually be decided in the Ohio courts.
So the question becomes whether groups such as NORML should get involved in the fight over who gets rich off the legalization of marijuana, or whether we should continue to focus on ending the practice of treating marijuana smokers like criminals, and the establishment of a legally controlled market where consumers can buy their marijuana in a safe and secure environment, and leave these economic fights to others. At the national level, this seems like an easy decision.
Some people get rich off of marijuana legalization, wherever it is adopted. There are scores of successful entrepreneurs who have surfaced in Colorado and Washington, and who are beginning to surface in Oregon and Alaska, creating new businesses and new jobs, and sometimes getting rich in the process. The phenomenon is know as the “Green Rush.” So we should not act shocked to learn that someone is going to get rich off marijuana legalization in Ohio, should it occur.
Nor should opponents act so offended by the fact that average citizens in Ohio do not have the resources to be part of those investors who would control the commercial cultivation licenses. In many of the states that have legalized marijuana for medical use, for example, the licenses to cultivate or dispense the marijuana have been quite limited, and enormously expensive.
In Massachusetts, for example, those seeking a license to commercially cultivate marijuana were required to put $500,000 in escrow before their application would even be reviewed. And in Florida, where a medical marijuana bill was approved permitting only low-THC, high CBD marijuana, applicants for one of only five licenses for a cultivation center were required to post a $5 million performance bond and pay a $100,000 non-refundable application fee, and demonstrate they have been in the nursery business in Florida for a minimum of 30 years. Few average citizens in either state would have the ability to participate in the profitable legal marijuana market, yet we did not hear a lot of protest from citizens in either state.
Further, most states that have legalized marijuana for either medical use or for everyone have established caps on the number of licenses for producers and distributors. These caps vary widely from state to state and market to market, with some states limiting the number of producers to no more than two (Minnesota) or three (Delaware).
So there is really nothing unique about the Ohio proposal, other than it is being funded by the very people who will benefit from its passage, instead of by billionaire philanthropists. But the bottom line is that someone gets rich off legalization, regardless of how it is funded, or structured.
At NORML, we recognize there are many inequities in the free market system, with an ever-increasing gap between the rich and the rest of us. But NORML is not an organization established to deal with income inequality; we are a lobby for responsible marijuana smokers. So we will leave other issues, including income inequality, to other organizations who focus on those issues, and we will continue to focus on legalizing marijuana.
And if the investor driven legalization initiative in Ohio qualifies for the ballot, national NORML will almost certainly support it. And we hope, so will a majority of the voters in Ohio.
For a while the thought of people who have not been pro-marijuana in the past, and may have been totally against it, getting rich from legal marijuana really bothered me. To some extent, it still does; they don’t deserve it.
That said, I would still support legalization in spite of the reward going to already rich people who may not care one bit about marijuana (other than it’s potential to make them more money). I would support any legalization measure because it is better than the status quo. We have to stop locking up hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding people for such an incredibly minor offense; if having a joint is even an offense at all in any real sense…
I am a bit pissed that President Obama has apparently decided to let Congress work towards removing marijuana from it’s schedule 1 status. Most of us know that a Republican led congress is not likely to do that. They would have much to loose in the form of payouts from Big Pharma and Law Enforcement bribes.
President Obama should do what we thought he would when we elected him to be president and that is to work towards legalizing this safe herb and ending mass incarceration. You would think the mere fact that he is African American would be enough to cause to him to act to end this broadly racist policy of marijuana prohibition. Well, he is still out president for another year and a half. We can only hope he does the right thing while he still has the chance. Many others have been in power and spoke out against the drug war and prohibition only after they are no longer in power (cowards mostly).
Anything is better than nothing! Any of the readers that visit and post, probably see my often rants. Most often political! I’ll be nice today. Like Jessi says, Question more, stay vigilant!
Ohio is 25 miles away. I don’t care who gets rich.
This is just the crumbs. Cannabis is a trillion dollar crop. It’s industrial use will dwarf recreational and medical use combined. Seems like plenty of room for many to get rich.
NORML’s “half a loaf is better than none” perspective will be a winner in the long term. Once some sort of legalization is in place, there will be changes to how a legalized marketplace is allowed to carry on.
Besides, the Ohioans can grow their four plants just like in Oregon and if enough plants are grown, the marketplace will be awash in weed and thus make those corporations compete on price.
I doubt this will make this Nov vote,way to many invalid signatures thrown out to qualify as registered voters,or false signatures.Ohio is full of welfare recipients and hippies that don’t vote,its embarrassing really for the people that do vote and invest energy in this.get your act together people.
Oh I hope it’s true for Ohio. Good Luck!!!!
Exactly, beggars cannot be pickers and choosers. These people offer salvation from prohibition, why wouldn’t you take that over continued prosecution?
Excellent article Keith.
Don’t hold your breath folks; I predict both measures pass and it gets stuck in court for a year or two. Still remarkable legislature that can be used in rulings before 2016 elections.
As for prioritizing getting people out if jail and amending inequalities later Im all for it… The greatest income inequality of all is the disproportionate incarceration of people of color for the equal consumption of marijuana and small possessions.
If we don’t like oligarchies funding our voter initiatives than let’s get out and crowdfund our own!!!
Its better than living in a state like Texas withOUT voter initiatives so Senador Judas Cruz can flip flop on marijuana legalization opinions in states like Colorado that DO while still maintaining prohibition in his own state; and all just to launder some dirty cash on a made to fail presidential race funded by a made to fail drug war.
Legalize and Regulate with Revenue to Educate… (Even if the marijuana-taxed education has to come after prisoners are freed, pardoned and allowed to vote…)
Keith,
As a cancer survivor I have to step in and say that NORML MUST get involved regardless of who profits off the legalization efforts in Ohio. How many more people have to die from Glioblastoma at the Taussig Cancer Institute in Ohio?
How about giving University Hospitals Neurological Institute’s Epilepsy Center in Cleveland, Ohio another tool in their toolbox when dealing with patents suffering from debilitating seizures, including children and infants with Dravet Syndrome.
Give the Shawnee, the Chippewa, Lenape and many other Ohio Native American Tribes the freedom to grow and harvest hemp (and cannabis) while educating them to moderate their intake of alcohol which has caused an epidemic of diabetes among the American Indian population.
Of those 17,000 Ohio marijuana arrests how many were African American, Hispanic, Native American, or some unlucky white guys?
How many Ohio teens were refused financial aid due to their marijuana arrest?
Marijuana Prohibition is racist bull shit, the only reason it continued is because in the 1930’s FDR died before he could work with Fiorello La Guardia to end it. In the 1971 Nixon even placed Marijuana in CSA schedule 1, yet we know cannabis has medical benefits.
Lastly we have to ask ourselves if hemp or cannabis could be used to make the “Ultimate Weapon”. We don’t know because in America we can not study it due to its CSA schedule, but Russia and China have been using hemp for eons. This in itself is a national security issue that needs to be studied and the sooner the better.
Food, Fiber, Fuel – Think about that for a second…… Fuel….we can GROW our own fuel.
Maybe all those hippies who fear big marijuana monopolies and would rather vote for prohibition than freedom would feel more at home in a “socialist” country like Sweden. I’m pretty sure they will really be into that country’s drug policy. It’s awesome, “dudes”. I promise! Christiania is only a few miles to the south!
I think I’ll vote for it because if it passes, I’ll be able to smoke legally and get a medical card (I have cancer). I’m gonna move out of this Godforsaken state as soon as possible anyways so it doesn’t matter much to me.
i dont care how gets rich… been my position all along… its about how it helps… people who otherwise die from cancers, auto immunes, nerve degeneration etc people who otherwise get thrown in jail for non violent cannabis possession…
limited to 10 grow sites will change when federal government changes controlled substance act… once state borders can legally be crossed ohioians will be able to broaden availability…
every1 should supplement cannabinoids like vitamins … when your endocannabinoid deficient your immune system is weak… causes auto immunes after immune system goes haywire… then chances of cancers sky rocket…
if this fails it will be tragic to say the least…
I have to say, before reading this article, I lightly supported the ResponsibleOhio amendment. However, after reading this article, all of my reservations have subsided. It’s not that I love the amendment, but supporting it is clearly the best way forward, given the situation.
Keith,
You have misstated what a true “free market” is.
The inequities that you claim exist in a free market are actually derivatives of the insertion of cronyism, regulation and licensure, not a result of a true free market.
A truly free market involves a consensual transaction between buyer and seller and does not have a coercion based cronyistic government fingerprint on it.
The best way to “legalize” would be to simply remove government from the process, period.
“Ohio is a conservative Midwestern state that is seldom, if ever, on the cutting edge on social issues.”
Not true. Ohio — particularly the Cleveland metro area — has been active on the civil rights front since at least the 1800s. Oberlin was an important stop on the Underground Railroad. The “Black Lives Matter” national conference was just held here.
Try not to overgeneralize about “flyover country”…
[Editor’s note: OH’s governor is Republican, OH voters elected an ultra conservative to the US Senate in Rob Portman and 12 of the state’s 16-person delegation are Republicans.
Suffice of to say, regardless of Cleveland and it’s progressive history, you reside in a ‘red’ state by most political measurements.]
Representative Curtin is a good man. He wasn’t in the legislature when the casino monopoly amendment was voted in. He does not believe in Ohio constitutional monopolies of this type. Americans tried to get rid of them during the late 19th and early 20th century for street cars and standard oil and they are just as wrong today. If you are going to legalize marijuana, do it the right way without monopolies
[Editor’s note: The current proposal in OH does not create monopolies (ten licenses creates competition, not a monopoly) and consumers can cultivate their own cannabis to avoid buying from a company if that is their choosing.]
Great article, Keith–really explains the situation very well. As someone who has been interested in marijuana reform almost as long as you, I agree with your conclusion–it would be a big step forward, despite its negative aspects.
I am not a supporter of the way the RO amendment is written, but I believe in stating the actual facts so people can decide for themselves over using fear tactics to trick people into voting one way or another
so here’s my two cents worth on this highly controversial situation and you can take it or leave it… I have actually read the RO amendment (more than once) and I will openly agree that it is not as good as other proposals out there, with that being said, it is a lot better than some of the other medicinal and recreationally legalized state amendments that I have read… but that is not an endorsement for this amendment, it is just me stating the simple facts
my biggest complaint about the RO amendment is that they had the audacity to actually write an Oligopoly (Legalized Cartel) into the amendment, which puts the controlling power into the hands of the investors who will ultimately receive one of the 10 (only 10) legal grow sites in Ohio
I have heard the word monopoly used in an incorrect manner to describe RO’s amendment, I say incorrectly because this initiative is actually an Oligopoly, or what I personally like to refer to as a Legalized Cartel run by the wealthy investors of this initiative, who will obviously be able to control the market
Oligopoly – ol•i•gop•o•ly -?äl???äp?l?/ noun
a state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers.
Cartel – car•tel – kär?tel/ noun
an association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition.
Let’s think about this for a moment… the Tabaco industry is an Oligopoly, the alcohol industry is an Oligopoly, the cellular phone/wireless communication industry is an Oligopoly, the automotive industry is an Oligopoly, the cable television services industry is an Oligopoly, the airline industry is an Oligopoly, the mass media industry is an Oligopoly, the pharmaceutical industry is an Oligopoly, the banking industry is an Oligopoly, the computer and software industry is an Oligopoly, the smart phone and computer operating system industry is an Oligopoly, the aluminum industry is an Oligopoly, the steel industry is an Oligopoly, the oil and gas industry is an Oligopoly, the entertainment industry (music and film) is an Oligopoly… are you starting to get the picture yet or do I need to continue stating the FACTS about how our world actually works!!!
so you don’t believe what I just stated, you say you need proof, well here it is folks, actual proof
National mass media and news outlets are a prime example of an oligopoly, with 90% of U.S. media outlets owned by six corporations: Walt Disney, Time Warner, CBS Corporation, Viacom, NBC Universal and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.
Operating systems for smartphones and computers provide excellent current examples of oligopolies. Apple iOS and Google Android dominate smartphone operating systems, while computer operating systems are overshadowed by Apple and Windows.
The auto industry is another example of an oligopoly, with the leading auto manufacturers in the United States being Ford, GM and Chrysler.
While there are smaller cell phone service providers, the providers that tend to dominate the industry are Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile.
The music entertainment industry is dominated by Universal Music Group, Sony, BMG, Warner and EMI Group.
Gasoline stations in the United States are as follow: Amoco. ARCO, BP, Chevron, Citgo, Conoco, Exxon, Gulf, Hess, Marathon Oil, Mobil, Phillips 66, Shell, 76, Sunoco, and Texaco… the stations like Sheetz, Speedway, and Circle K all get their gas from a major distributor that owns one or more of the other major gas brands.
however, named brand gas stations in Ohio are dominated by BP, Marathon, Mobile, Shell, and Sunoco
Natural Gas is actually defined by each individual state, in Ohio it is as follows: Direct Energy, East Ohio Gas, Duke Energy, NiSource, and Dominion
let’s face it, I could keep going on, but I am sure everybody has already got the big picture by now, and for those of you who haven’t gotten it yet… well let’s just say you haven’t got a clue about how the world actually works
do I like the RO amendment, no… is it the worst one I have ever come across, no… are there better proposals out there in Ohio, absolutely… are there better proposals that actually stand a chance at getting on the ballot… past experiences say NO!!!
over the past several years I have witnessed time and time again, various groups that I will not name, try to get and amendment on the ballot and each and every time I have seen them fail miserably at the task with barely 150,000 signatures time and time again… I hear people say wait until next year and vote for OTEP… seriously, just what makes you think that OTEP will get the required signatures by the deadline next year when others have failed to do it in all the previous years that it has been attempted?
OTEP has just under 4300 likes on its Facebook page, which is not a lot of people following this group
ResponsibleOhio has well over 33.000 likes and has managed to turn in just under 700,000 signatures this year… they also have money set aside for the promoting and advertising of the initiative which will probably be done in the weeks prior to the actual voting date here, and this campaign will target millions of people here in Ohio
face the facts people, without the money needed to fund the initiative you just can’t do it… if it could be done on a volunteer basis it would have already been done years ago, end of story!!!
the momentum on the RO initiative is greater than any previous attempts from any other initiative in the past, EVER!!!
most of the people I have argued with about how shitty the RO amendment really is, only cared about one thing, legalizing marijuana!!! they didn’t care about the fact that it would put all the control into the hands of a few select wealthy individuals, they didn’t care that you can only grow 4 plants, they didn’t care about anything other than just getting marijuana legalized here in Ohio, PERIOD!!!
like it or not, the RO amendment will most likely pass this year, and for those of us ( yes I said us, because I am one of you) who really don’t care for everything that it stands for… we will just have to fight hard to change this amendment to better fit what we really need here in OHIO!!!
The problem with ResponsibleOhio is that the group is exploiting a loophole in Ohio’s Constitution.
While I support full legalization; I cannot, under any terms, support the exploitation of our State’s founding document to benefit a few at the expense of many.
Had ResponsibleOhio opened up the commercial grow industry to similarly situated groups, businesses and entrepreneurs, it would have garnered my vote.
This is not what was proposed, however; and, sadly, ResponsibleOhio establishes a cartel, with the full protection of the law.
The scheme uses the protection and color of the law, to stifle all competition, while ‘protecting’ their investment.
It is bad public policy, based on a bad business model and, therefore, bad for Ohioans.
Ohio can do much better, which is why ResponsibleOhio deserves a no vote in November!
[Editor’s note: Voting against a legalization ballot measure is a vote for continuing prohibition in OH, which is terribly shortsighted. As previously indicated by commentators, the good citizens of OH, like the rest of the nation, already well live with industries that have limited competition, from automobile manufacturers to telephone providers to eye glasses to energy providers to razor blades.
Ending cannabis prohibition is supremely important to NORML and reform organizations. Fighting over who sells legal cannabis is far less important.]
“At NORML, we recognize there are many inequities in the free market system, with an ever-increasing gap between the rich and the rest of us.”
there are gaps between people’s income in a free market system. this is not a free market system. valid point on your mission though.
While I understand the limits on competition in the US, these limits were not brought about by exploiting and enshrining a cartel-run, neo-monopoly (or as RAND calls it “structured oligopoly”) within a state’s constitution. That should bring pause, and is why the state legislature took the action they did when approving HJR-4.
Another issue is that ResponsibleOhio has very weak provisions when it comes to medicinal marijuana. For example, there are no caregiver provisions and the language limits patient access to physicians who can make a medicinal-use recommendation.
In addition, there are no provisions that allow disability-specific production of strains that may be of benefit to those with less-common diseases or illnesses. Simply put, not all strains are the same. What works great for chronic pain, may not work well for the epileptic, a cancer patient or those with chronic, progressive HCV (Hep-C).
Moreover, some disabilities require significant oil extraction/concentrations to be effective.
ResponsibleOhio greatly restricts the production of and/or the quantity of marijuana needed for these extracts.
Cost is also a factor – especially for individuals with disabled on fixed incomes or those who need large quantities of extracts.
Furthermore, there are no incentive for the investor-controlled grow sites to develop or grow disability-specific strains. This should also give pause.
Under ResponsibleOhio, possession of up to 1 oz of marijuana would be legal. However, possession of 100 grams (about 3-1/2 oz) is not a criminal offense under Ohio law, resulting in a citation, no criminal record and a small fine.
Although ResponsibleOhio does allow cultivation of up to 4 plants, the individual must obtain a permit (at minimum) and there are no “shall issue” provisions in the initiative language. This means that the state can greatly restrict who can grow, where he or she can grow and any other regulations/rules deemed fit.It is not clear who will be allowed to cultivate because of the vagueness of the language.
Lastly, while I understand the ‘legalize already’ mantra, I also feel that the “now or never” or “this is as good as it gets” approach is shortsighted.
Ohio and the legalization community can do much better for the medicinal and recreational user. We need to get this right.
Simply put, the disabled and those
My comment regarding Ohio is at the end.
Well, the Cryptkeeper, aka Pennsylvania Speaker of the House, Mike Turzai (R) is talking shit to stall and delay medical marijuana legislation in the state.
He wants the press to take his prohibitionist side.
“While a bipartisan House task force works on a compromise medical marijuana bill, House Speaker Mike Turzai told the Pennsylvania Press Club on Monday that concerns still have to be addressed.
Pending legislation would allow for a certain number of licensed medical cannabis growers and distributors, but Turzai, R-Allegheny, voiced some lingering questions.
Image of Turzai at press club
Rep. Mike Turzai speaks with at the Pennsylvania Press Club on Monday.
Photo by Sam Janesch
‘What are they going to do with all the other marijuana that’s being grown there?’ he said. ‘ And what or who is it going to impact? And who is going to police that? I’m sorry but I care about every kid in high school because marijuana is an entry drug, and we’re going to have a full vetting of this issue.’
Multiple forms of medical marijuana legislation are in the mix or coming soon, but the final passage of a bill may be unlikely before the fall.
After a bill from Sens. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon County, and Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery County, overwhelmingly passed the Senate earlier this year, it was stalled in a House committee and has not been approved to go to a floor vote. Turzai said Monday the bill was ‘too far-reaching’ because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medical use.”
Turzai is stalling for more research because cannabis is not approved by the FDA, and he ignores how the feds have blocked such research by keeping it in schedule 1. He hasn’t been deconstructed. Do it.
The Cryptkeeper is repeating that tired old gateway drug argument. He’s bringing up his concern for high school kids who are going to get their hands on the surplus or diverted weed. Same old argument about it that has been debunked.
Turdzai is going to drag as many prohibitionist medical professionals and law enforcement as he can so that either the bill is postponed forever or there are so many restrictions in the final version that it’s a CBD oil only bill, which is flaming useless for everybody else who can benefit from medical marijuana.
“House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, has shown support for medical marijuana, but Turzai said the Legislature must hear from medical experts, parents and community members about their concerns before legislation is passed.”
http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130426024253/tftc/images/5/5e/The_CryptKeeper.png
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/07/medical_marijuana_update.html#incart_river
Mike Turzai, the Cryptkeeper, is the very same Republican who put through the state’s controversial voter ID law ostensibly to fight voter fraud but really to see to it the Romney won the state.
The article’s headline:
Pennsylvania Voter ID Law: Mike Turzai Repeats Debunked Myth About Election Fraud
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/16/pennsylvania-voter-id-law_n_1790844.html
YouTube of Turdzai talking about voter ID and Romney.
I want the viable seeds legalized. Period. Whatever else they do. Yeah, Ohio, and it’s predicated that people are going to stick to the four plant number, which is hard to control, and outdoors cannabis plants can get rather large over the summer, as anyone can see on television in August and September when the eradication authorities are justifying their budgets in the news, footage of huge ditch weed and personal patches, cartel grows in national forests and the like.
Better yet, just legalize it at the federal level. Take it out of the schedule completely.
RO is bullshit, wont get my vote
But there is another initiative other than Responsible Ohio. Why isn’t anyone discussing this option?
Other options for legalizing?
Two other Ohio marijuana groups oppose the ResponsibleOhio amendment and are gathering signatures actively for their own legalization effort.
Ohio Cannabis Rights amendment
Website:OhioRightsGroup.org
Summary: Would allow for medical / “therapeutic” use of cannabis and industrial hemp. Would allow people to grow cannabis at home for personal therapeutic use. Commercial sales would be regulated.
Status: Cleared to gather signatures on May 23, 2013. Petition committee member John Pardee said his group has collected roughly 150,000 signatures. He hopes the amendment can make the ballot alongside ResponsibleOhio’s measure, to give people a choice.
Opinion on ResponsibleOhio: Pardee said his effort is the “people’s amendment,” while ResponsibleOhio offers a “corporate amendment.” He called the amendment a “very dangerous precedent.”
End Ohio Cannabis Prohibition Act
Website:ResponsibleOhioans.org
Summary: Would allow for all adults 18 or older to use marijuana and to grow up to 24 plants for their personal use. Allows the Legislature to create a licensing process for commercial growers. No special taxes beyond standard sales tax.
Status: Rejected by Attorney General Mike DeWine last month; plan to tweak language and resubmit. “We’ve got volunteers coming in by the droves because of this ResponsibleOhio petition,” said Tonya Davis, of Kettering, one of the group’s leaders.
Opinion on ResponsibleOhio: “They only allow 10 (growers). That just drives me nuts. I think it’s going to end up creating another class of criminal. They’re just changing the means of prohibition. If you’re going to legalize it, legalize it; don’t monopolize it,” Davis said. “These folks that are coming in know nothing about cannabis. They just have the money.”
Chrissie Thompson and Benjamin Lanka
It may be that concern over who gets rich is short-sighted. Unlike beer, wine, or whiskey which take some capital and expertise to manufacture, weed is pretty simple to grow. Plant the seeds, a modicum of care and …there you go. Pretty easy to take the market share from “industrial” growers with simple gardening techniques.
I agree with NORMLs position.
Some Ohions believe they should wait for 2016 when a different group plans to introduce a legalization bill.
Those people fail to realize that the same group has been trying to legalize for years and hasnt event collected enough signatures to reach the ballot yet.
It is highly doubtful they will get the funding necessary to gather enough signatures in 2016, despite the fact the bill would have a good chance of passing.
By not supporting the 2015 measure you are taking a HUGE gamble on 2016. Last time they tried to collect signatures they got less than half of what was needed to qualify. First time RO tried to collect signatures they got about 90% of what was needed to qualify and will have the last 10% this week.
If anything vote for RO, then start a ballot measure to allow more than 10 growing licenses in 201, AFTER its legalized using RO’s funding/advertising.
Why on earth are they doing it in 2015 instead of during the presidential election year of 2016. Ohio’s the most important state in the electorial college. Every major candidate would have had to take a definitive stand, coming down either for or against national federal legalization. Now it will just be something Ohio voted on a year ago.
If Ohio legalizes and Chris Christie gets elected, he said this morning on Fox and Friends that he will enforce federal law.
I watched it and one of the Fox people said 63% of millennials think marijuana should be legal. Politico doesn’t specify that.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/chris-christie-enforce-marijuana-illegal-2016-120769.html
What is Chris Christie’s exact definition of “justice?”
Is Chris Christie’s justice what is written into law, without regard for what is just, for what is right, for the individual’s right?
Justice can be hard to define. It’s why laws are written in an orderly society, but is it just what’s written?
I’ll never understand how it can be a crime to save your life, to relieve needless suffering, and to prolong your life or someone else’s life. How can it be a crime to use cannabis recreationally when it’s far less dangerous than tobacco and alcohol? Nothing is completely harmless, like you think taking a shower is harmless and then you hear of people slipping in the shower and end of story.
Department of Justice, what is the definition of justice?
Ask 100 different people the definition of justice, and how many times do they hem and haw and have trouble articulating anything clearly.
Some activists have raised objections to the proposal because it would not permit average Ohioans to compete for the commercial cultivation licenses, although ordinary citizens would be entitled to apply for licenses for the more than 1,000 retail dispensaries that would be authorized, claiming it is undemocratic.
Just because they say only, only 42% of the signatures were valid doesn’t mean they are telling the truth. Anti’s will say or do any thing to get their way. A law suit for legalization may need to happen.
@Mike McG mentioned that adults over 21 could Possess up to an ounce under RO– reminder, that’s 900 25-mg SINGLE TOKES after handgrindsifting through #16 wirecloth screenstrainage. Do some patients need more than 900 tokes a year? (I don’t but I guess I’m too unpatient.) Doctorly authorization would presumably be required for those users.
Does anyone doubt that the government, having to attend to only ten suppliers, would be able to inexpensively take care of inspections, quality and safety assurances etc.? I’d vote yes and then as someone from NORML said keep working on the inequalities (#1: eliminate wasteful Joint-$moking to take sting out of any oligopical delay in price crash therapy).
It is time to legalize. Thanks NORML for explaining and endorsing. Not perfect but forward movement. What ever help is needed besides lots of $$$ I’m in.
There is no industrial benefit. The scores of farmers that could grow for industrial purposes wouldnt be allowed to. Amd the RO initiative wont be in the business of industrial use. And make sure you get your personal grow permits. And you cant sell your own crop. A major cash crop that would bring trillions to farmers and lower economy communities being held back? Has anyone seen West Columbus since Ian James got the casino bill passed? A bunch of empty promises. Research becomes subject to their dirty ways. They have already shown the propensity to lie. There is a reason why 400k signatures were thrown out.
The “something is better than nothing” attitude is a detriment tonreal legalization. Yes, it needs to be controlled and regulated but to add their commission to the Ohio Constitution? Not to mention several investors arent even Ohioans. Its a slap in the face to Ohio.
[Editor’s note: “Not to mention several investors arent even Ohioans. Its a slap in the face to Ohio.”
Locals putting up the money for legalization is almost unheard of historically as from CA’s Prop. 215 in 1996 forward most all cannabis law reform was paid for by ‘out of staters’ and the real slap in the face should be directed at cannabis producers, sellers, consumers and activists in Ohio who’ve failed to advance any cannabis law reforms since 1978 (when the state decriminalized possession do to the efforts of one man: former NORML board member and prominent Ohioan Richard Wolfe).
If advocates from Responsible Ohio succeed in placing a legalization measure on the ballot and win, and in time, post legalization, consumers are not well served by the state’s cannabis policies, like with Alcohol Prohibition before, states will pass, in some cases, dozens-to-hundreds of pro-consumer reforms, as alcohol products are readily available across the nation, and the alcohol industry is a diverse one. It is unlikely that cannabis’ trajectory will be too much different in the long run.]
@ mexweed: Your calculus is a little specious and based a false assumption: That all medicinal users smoke their medicine. This is not accurate and many use extracts that simply cannot be obtained legally under ResponsibleOhio’s plan.
In addition, when considering medicinal use by children, it is false to imply that they (the children) will “toke” their medicine. That simply would not happen and be inappropriate when disability-specific extracts are available.
Lastly, “screening” marijuana is legally similar to techniques used to produce hash, which is prohibited in ResponsibleOhio’s plan.
@ Brutal Truth says:
“Maybe all those hippies who fear big marijuana monopolies and would rather vote for prohibition than freedom would feel more at home in a “socialist” country like Sweden. I’m pretty sure they will really be into that country’s drug policy. It’s awesome, “dudes”. I promise! Christiania is only a few miles to the south!”
I gotta tell you, I’m slightly confused by your comments. I agree with your comment about those who fear big MJ monopolies and would rather vote for prohibition than freedom. If they had to spend a few years in a federal pen for MJ possession, they might feel a bit differently about that.
But your sarcasm about their feeling more at home in a “socialist” country like Sweden, because of its MJ laws and such–you do know that Uruguay, the only country in the world with MJ legalization (I don’t include the US, because we have four states, not the entire country), is, uh, a “socialist” country.
And, as far as Christiania–well, that’s in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is virtually as “socialist” as Sweden!! So, I honestly don’t understand your dig against the “socialist” countries.
The Netherlands would be considered “socialistic” by American standards too, and they have one of the most pot-friendly cities in the world, in Amsterdam. I think we need to evolve past this cold-war mentality about socialists–in many ways those countries are far more progressive and “free” than we in the purely capitalist world are.
I feel that the author of this piece has really missed a few important facts. While we do have overwhelmingly conservative representation on the state level, that’s simply because of the overall size of the rural communities in Ohio. When you break down actual conservative to liberal as far as population, it’s a lot closer to being split than your story gives credit. Our “conservative” state even went to President Obama in the last election. Ohio has been, and always will be, a purple state.
Also, we’ve always had a casual relationship with marijuana. Marijuana possession under 3.5g has been decriminalized for decades as we were one of the handful of states that decriminalized during the Carter administration.
Now to the meat of the discussion, the problem isn’t that someone is going to get rich. The problem is that once the amendment is passed, the lion’s share of the profit is already decided and could be decided permanently.
The amendment is so controlling of the market, dispensaries can’t even make their own marijuana infused products. So if a retail location wants edibles, oils, or other items they will be forced to buy those from mandated production facilities as well.
Not to mention it hard codes the tax rate in the amendment, so increases or decreases by the legislator wouldn’t be possible after the fact. Then to top it all off, the language of the amendment also sets a bottom cap on retail prices practically ensuring that growing companies also control minimum pricing on all marijuana sold in the state.
Lastly, it’s bad for tourism. I once heard someone say Southern Ohio could turn into the Napa Valley of marijuana for the east coast. What is one of the big tourist draws of the Napa Valley? Tours and stays at wineries and vineyards. This amendment would crush any chance of a skilled and well visioned independent grower from creating an all-inclusive experience like that.
It’s just a bad deal in a state where basic possession has already been decriminalized.
[Editor’s note: Ending cannabis prohibition in OH is a bad deal? OK…enjoy joining cops, narcs, drug testers and the ‘rehab’ industry voting for OH to continue cannabis prohibition by rejecting the just-placed-on-ballot cannabis legalization initiative.
Hopefully, you’ll be in the minority at the voting polls and OH will join AK, WA, OR and CO by ending cannabis prohibition.
Decrim is not good enough anymore, in any state…in fact decrim is what anti-cannabis organizations like Project SAM have adopted as their position, which informs all how lame the public policy of decrim is compared to outright legalization and home cultivation.
In America, from this point forward, it is legalization or bust[ed]!]
I don’t live in a place where we have the option of getting a referendum by simply collecting enough signatures, but I wish I did. I think the good people of Ohio are lucky to have this opportunity and I hope they take it. If Ohio legalises in 2015 it will have effects else where, likewise, if Ohio rejects this the global legalisation movement will stall. Ohio saying no could set the cause of ending prohibition at federal level back by 3 to 5 years. If this is rejected by the Ohioan voters I doubt it will be on the ballot there again before 2020.
The ‘cartel’ part of the proposed amendment isn’t great but someone will always get rich off of the opening up of a new market so it might as well be the folks that funded the campaign to get it legalised, rather than growers who never lifted a finger or contributed a dime coming in to make their money after someone else has done all the heavy lifting. I’d rather the folks who funded the end of prohibition got rich off of legalisation than private prison owners getting rich from prohibition continuing. Those seem to be the alternatives.
@ David Wallace: The problem with ResponsibleOhio’s initiative is that it enshrines a cartel-run business monopoly in to Ohio’s Constitution.
This means that the only way it can be changed is by repealing the amendment. The state cannot change, the courts cannot change or modify it -only another Constitutional amendment can change it.
In writing the initiative, the lawyers for ResponsibleOhio used language that prohibits competition in the commercial grow industry.
All commercial marijuana has to be purchased through ResponsibleOhio (this includes medicinal marjuana). This simply closes the industry for all others, and the cartel has complete control of the market, product, distribution, price, quality and profits.
In addition, ResponsibleOhio keeps in place stiff penalties for anyone selling or bartering marijuana (felonies).
Because of this, ResponsibleOhio has fractured the legalization community in Ohio, and their business model has turned off a lot of people who would have otherwise voted for a Colorado-styled initiative.
Because of this (cartel/monopoly), many organization have come out against the proposal and it is doubtful ResponsibleOhio will pass on November 3rd, 2015.
Examples of opposition include The Green Party, The Libertarian Party, the Republican Party, Ohio Farm Bureau, The Ohio Hospital Association, all major Ohio Educational Associations, the State Legislature, High Times, Ohio’s Governor, Ohio’s Secretary of State, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, The NFIB, the majority of Ohio’s legalization groups and many more.
Ohio will legalize and support a fair, common-sense initiative. Ohioans will not, however, allow a group of businessman (cartel) use our Constitution to enshrine an unfair business monopoly.
[Editor’s note: No new information here (except your omission that consumers will have over a 1,000 retail outlets to purchase cannabis) other than the groups listed beyond GP, LP and High Times are all largely opposed to cannabis law reform.
Ohio will legalize and support a fair, common-sense initiative. Ohioans will not, however, allow a group of businessman (cartel) use our Constitution to enshrine an unfair business monopoly.
That’s high minded and a likely a politically fatal decision as 1) a vote against the current initiative is a vote to extend prohibition in OH, 2) Cannabis law reform activists in OH don’t enjoy much of a positive history politically organizing at the state level, so the current organizers who’re risking the millions of dollars doing the heavy lifting this time around will not likely be re-visiting the issue any time soon again in OH…leaving in place the mass arrests, prosecutions and incarcerations…along with a general and continued climate of Reefer Madness in the state.
No cannabis law reform is perfect or ideal–never was, never will be…like ALL laws–the window to actually pass a reform initiative rare and voting to extend prohibition in hopes of amended initiative language in the ideal would be a severely missed opportunity for OH to end the state’s nine decade old cannabis prohibition laws…joining four other states in doing so (with their imperfect laws too).]
the prohibitionists are coming out of the woodwork with false statements about Responsible Ohio.
At the same time, the Jack Herer or free-as-tomatoes people are not organized or have any cash to get anything done.. OHIO is a pay-to-play state, always has been.
The named growers are competing against each other. There is a state commission that can introduce changes to the growers if need be.
All this monopoly crap is just prohibitionist talk. A monopoly is one big over-arching owner, not 10.
How many phone companies can you pick from?
How many gasoline companies can you pick from?
How many natural gas companies can you pick from?
How many electricity companies can you pick from?
and so on….
Right now in Ohio, we have cops on the side of the road searching your car looking for weed and wanting to arrest you.
Passing Issue 3 will get the cops off the marijuana trail and give everyone some piece of mind for a change.
everyone has an opinion. The nay-sayers and prohibitionists are out in force on RO’s facebook page.
I think NORML is missing an important point about Ohio: Under the best of circumstances, 52.6% of Ohioans support legalization for recreational purposes. However, that percentage drops when legalization is joined with the terms business cartel, monopolization and/or oligopolization (choose you term).
ResponsibleOhio made a great error when drafting their business model: That Ohioans who support legalization (like myself) would overlook amending the State Constitution to allow a business cartel and complete control of a commercial crop by a handful of wealthy investors. To simplify: It is really a 50/50 crap shoot for any bill that would legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio.
Let’s take a look at the 47.4% of Ohioans who do not support legalization of recreational marijuana: ResponsibleOhio gave them a present – their business model. This has resulted in very critical and bad publicity in Ohio – death by a 1000 cuts as it were.
Now, the opposition is partnering up with the legalization community, the occupy wall street community and groups from all political persuasions to defeat this initiative on it’s business merits. The 47.4% has grown well beyond the 50/50 threshold.
Politics makes strange bedfellows – which is on full display in Ohio.
When ResponsibleOhio is beaten in November, it won’t be due to prohibitionists, drug dealers or social conservatives. It will because Ohioans recognize a scheme, a bad deal and bad public policy.
Simply put, ResponsibleOhio will have been beaten by their own greed and inability to see the forest through the trees. The love of money will be their demise!
[Editor’s note: NORML’s well aware of the polling data in OH and the organization does not begrudge local entities–be them businesses or activists–organizing great sums of capital to end cannabis prohibition.
However, rather than work against a less-than-ideal cannabis legalization initiative (and ALL legalization initiatives to date have been less-than-ideal from a consumer’s point of view…) NORML supports those that support ending cannabis prohibition.
NORML does not believe that either government or corporations should pervert free market forces when attempting to pre-determine the ‘carrying capacity’ of producers and sellers of cannabis (as is the case already, for example, in states like NJ, MA, ME and DC). Are these less-than-ideal ‘controlled markets’ for retail access to cannabis products better than pot prohibition?
Duh.
Why be a nabob of negativity when other’s are well organized and poised to succeed where others in Ohio have historically failed? Numerous other legalization efforts have been attempted and failed (CA, OR, CO, AK, NV), but arguably they all advanced legalization, and in the states of AK, OR and CO, paved the way for successful initiatives.
Work hard and succeed, or, complain and fail? Seems like an easy choice…unless one prefers complaining to succeeding.]
Just legalize Cannabis! If it doesn’t pass in November… It may be 5 to 10 years down the road for another legal ballot.
Being against ResponsibleOhio and Issue 3 because it is bad public policy does not make one a “nabob.”
My opposition directly relates to the establishment of a business monopoly in Ohio’s Constitution.
Simply put, once a Constitutional monopoly is established, it will be exceedingly difficult to change the business structure and/or any provision contained in the amendment.
The State can’t change it, the Governor can’t change it and the general assembly can’t change it.
The only way any changes can occur is through successful passage of another constitutional amendment.
Sometimes you have to cut off a finger to save the hand.
It’s unfortunate that ResponsibleOhio put the gangrene of monopolization in the hand of legalization, and I will be voting to excise this finger on November 3rd, 2015!
[Editor’s note: Unless you want to redefine language, having ten producers does not equate to a monopoly. If there was a single producer of cannabis that would be a monopoly…and NORML would oppose it. But, because what is being proposed in OH has multiple producers and one thousand retail outlets, Question #3 can’t be fairly described as a monopoly.
Post prohibition in OH, if cannabis consumers and aspiring ganjapreneuers want to create more competition in the industry they’ll gird for and get the changes they seek.
In politics, if there is a will, there is a way.]
I have been reading on the issue #2 and #3 on the Ohio ballot and I am still confused on what they are all about! I think that’s what they want, to confuse the public.
If I vote Yes on issue #3 it states, we allow a monopoly?
What if I vote yes on issue #2? Would it not create the monopoly, and still allow the legalization of it? I just want it legal, period.! I have been a smoker for 30 years and have at times, I have paid a sever legal consequence for it, so have some of my family and closes friends, and it is time for that to STOP!
Monopoly definition: “exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices.”
A monopoly, by definition, means exclusive control by an individual or group of individuals, working in concert to control a commodity.
ResponsibleOhio assembled a “group” of investors who collude to pass an initiative that hands complete control of the Ohio’s commercial marijuana grow industry to the “group.”
That is a monopoly (or if you prefer a euphemism, a “structured oligopoly”).
Regardless, the outcome is the same a single group (mono) of investors will control a commercial growing industry (opoly).
In fact, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Issue 3 establishes a commercial monopoly. The Ohio Bar Associations (23,000 members of which are attorneys) declared that Issue 3 establishes a monopoly, so has a list of very respected legal, economic, business and political minds and organizations.
I think that validates the fact that Issue 3 establishes a business monopoly within Ohio’s Constitution.
I understand that NORML – National supports Issue 3. But at least have the courage to stand behind what you support, which, of course, is a commercial marijuana growing monopoly.
NORML’s semantics makes the organization look sophomoric.
[Editor’s note: Semantics aside about a anti-cannabis Supreme Court decision in OH that stretches the meaning of monopoly {Mono, derived from Greek, is the word for ‘single’, ‘one’ and ‘alone’ in latin and later english…it does not denote ‘ten’, which is the number of producers of cannabis proposed in the initiative; one thousand retail licenses are available under the proposal as well. Is the OH proposal without working peer in the US? In states like MA, CT, NY, NJ, IL, NM, WA, CO and DC reformers and/or states have limited the number of producers, i.e., MA only allows for 35 medical cannabis licenses, NJ five, DC four, etc…but cannabis products are readily available, prices are going down and the quality is going up. All good things and signs for the future for cannabis consumers and patients…not a dystopia brought on by rapacious capitalists} (a measure placed on the ballot by a prohibitionist legislature, Governor and Attorney General), you may favor unachievable political utopia, but NORML does not enjoy such lax morality as the organization is contacted by thousands of citizens a week busted on cannabis charges, who want the immoral public policy and violent enforcement to end post haste far more than they’re concerned who makes money off producing and selling cannabis.
You may have been foolish and immoral enough to have publicly opposed the successful cannabis legalization efforts in AK, CO, OR, WA (and DC), such as you are in OH, but NORML’s principled stance that being anti-prohibition is more important than concentrating on who gets rich post-prohibition has helped deliver huge social, economic, political and cultural changes for the better in the states where citizens have voted in the majority to legalize (or in the case of DC, de-penalize possession and home cultivation) cannabis production and sales. Hundreds of millions in sales have occurred, tens of millions in taxes collected, tens of thousands of once ‘criminal’ employees involved in an underground economy are now tax-paying, social security privileged stakeholders in a legal economy; arrest rates have collapsed, prosecutions and incarcerations even rarer.
None of the legalization reforms in any of the states are ideal.
No laws or initiatives are perfect in conception or implementation.
None.
Neither political idealism or unrealistic wont for perfection will stop NORML (or numerous other civil liberty organizations like the ACLU, who also support #3 in OH) from sticking to the now 45-year-old game plan: ending cannabis prohibition (stopping the arrests, state violence and immorality inherent to cannabis prohibition).
You may see such as ‘sophomoric’, but you apparently are not compelled by the pain, tragedy and social costs incurred, en mass, that an organization like NORML is burdened with on an hourly basis, for five decades.
Hopefully, if the near past (and strong social trending data) is prologue in OH this November, the voters there will have the same forward-looking view as their brethren in the four other legalization states (and DC) by ending cannabis prohibition once and for all in the state, as soon as possible…reaping the many benefits of legalization soon there after.
Cannabis consumers or aspiring ‘ganjapreneurs’ in OH (or any other state) actually voting alongside narcs/pee testers/drug rehab and private prison industry to keep cannabis prohibition in place when provided a prime reform vehicle like a binding ballot initiative is a form of political narcissism NORML can’t understand and will not endorse.]
I think it is very clear that I will support issue#3.
Here’s a point … I would like to stick a sign in my yard telling people to vote YES on issue #3.
But if it doesn’t pass, then everyone in my neighborhood will then know (assume) that I am a user, which in turn may have an impact on how I am treated in the future. I have kids. Will my neighbors not let their kids play with mine, because I support an illegal drug? Will the police show up at my house the next day and raid my house. Probably not, I’m 99% sure but, there is that 1%. Those are thoughts that race through my head. Being treated like that once again for something that is normal, something, that I said I have used for the past 30 years, something that I have proven to myself and those close to me, that you can be a normal citizen in the United States and use cannabis. I AM A VERY PRODUCTIVE CITIZEN.
Like I said, I have had legal trouble in the past for very small amounts (a “roach”!) which has stayed on my record and has caused me to not receive jobs, which has caused me to have to explain myself, when I truly, never believed it was deemed necessary.
I vote YES on issue #3, for our children’s sake that they will NEVER have to go though the embarrassment that I have been put through, by the police, the courts, and employers.
[Editor’s note: Thousands of lawn signs supporting legalization initiatives over the years (in states like CA, CO, OR, WA and DC) have been displayed with no discernible problems for owners/renters.
Be loud, be proud…support ending a long-failed public policy (with mj legalization now polling upwards of 50% in most states today, you’ve got equal chance to make a new ‘bud’ than an enemy of your neighbors).]
It is not “foolish and immoral” to oppose a bad initiative that abuses the referendum process in Ohio.
You see, Ohio has been on the forefront of decriminalization and has been a leader in this regard since 1975. We currently enjoy some of the most lenient marijuana possession laws in the country.
In fact, possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana does not result in criminal charges, and a simple citation is issued with a maximum $150.00 fine and no criminal record.
An analyst of Issue 3 demonstrates that 97% of marijuana laws and penalties in Ohio will remain intact. People will still go to jail and the prohibition will continue.
Given this fact, and the shortcomings of Issue 3 with it’s commercial monopoly, it appears a “reject and replace in 2016” with a common-sense initiative is more palatable at this time.
Immediate gratification is not always a wise choice and those who sacrifice freedom for token legalization – deserve neither.
While I respect the work NORML has done over the past 4 decades, we are simply going to have to disagree on Issue 3. It’s a bad bill, is bad public policy and sets a bad precedent for Ohio and the nation as our and state and country wrestles with the trend towards legalization.
Ohio will legalize in the near future and can do much better than what is being proposed in Issue 3.
[Editor’s note: If you live in OH, and either use cannabis or believe that prohibition of it is a failure, and you don’t vote to end prohibition in 2015, good luck re-visiting this issue anytime soon (maybe a decade) as there is 0.0 precedent of citizens in OH previous to the efforts of Responsible Ohio effectively organizing to either place ballot measures before voters or pass reform legislation.
Your ‘analyst’ (sic) that 97% of cannabis prohibition will remain in place is seriously flawed and reads like the kind of online scaremongering found by a small minority of ‘pot policy perfectionists’ ginned up in WA (and to a smaller degree CO) in advance of their legalization initiatives. However, the data has been clear: cannabis-related arrests drop by more than 80%, thousands of once illegal/underground workers in the pot industry become tax-paying employees and tens of millions of dollars are raised in local and state taxes. This all happens quite soon after the passage of legalization initiatives…it did in CO/WA, it is happening right now in OR/AK and if voters this Fall in OH are prudent, the citizens of the state (and visitors) too will enjoy the near immediate benefits of ending cannabis prohibition with a tax-n-regulate policy.
You cite the state’s 37-year-old decrim laws…you can specifically thank former NORML board member Richard Wolf, who, in 1977 singularly lobbied the legislature and governor to pass the state’s flawed decrim laws. Flawed? In OH while a small amount of cannabis is decriminalized the possession of paraphernalia is illegal and the state historically has rigorously enforced ‘smoke a joint, lose your license’.
By voting ‘no’, and seeking a continuation of cannabis prohibition enforcement in OH, well over 10,000 citizens annually are going to keep getting busted…lives wrecked, etc…some maybe believe they have some kind of luxury to declare a legalization initiative ‘bad policy’, while not having to do anything more than enjoy their comfortable status quo.
If the initiative fails, and as the calls/emails keep streaming into civil liberty groups like NORML/ACLU from many of the 10,000 lives still ill-effected by prohibition enforcement/patients that have no legal access to medicine, too bad NORML can’t refer them to ‘Mike McGruff from OH’ who supports legalization (in theory), but is too high minded to actually end cannabis prohibition in his state (on other peoples’ dime no less!)…and is hoping that some day, some way, a group of citizens will pass an initiative more to his liking.
Again, regrettably, NORML’s moral imperative is, by necessity, higher than yours…and you’re welcome for NORML creating what limited law reform has existed in OH. The organization is not satisfied with the state’s four decade old law that still results in over 10,000 arrests annually and thinks it both logical and moral to end cannabis prohibition in OH this Fall by popular vote.]
@ Aaron:
I wouldn’t worry about what your neighbors think. 90% of Ohioans support legalization of medicinal marijuana (that means 9 out of 10 of your neighbors) and 50% support recreational legalization.
I doubt you’ll have to deal with any repercussions and you may start a good discussion regarding the legalization.
I don’t support Issue 3 because I think it’s a bad initiative. However, like the majority of Ohioans I due support legalization. I’m sure you’re a good neighbor.
I just wanted to say thanks for all the info that has been given to me in the last week.
Thanks to the “editor” and Mike McGruff for easing my mind to put up a sign in my yard. I did not know where to get a sign that supports the issue, so, I just made one myself, late last night. (I’m proud of it, as it looks professionally made). I have emailed all my friends and family to remind them to vote this November (Vote YES), which, I might not have done, if someone didn’t state to me, “Be loud, and be proud”. I took that to heart. I have been waiting for years to see something like this happen in America/Ohio, and it is a very exciting time!
I have to agree with the “Editor” on these issues. I believe that the time is NOW! It would be a great tragedy to NOT see this pass this November, and have to wait possibly 10 years, to be able to vote on this issue again. I agree that we should not wait, and if the numbers are accurate (10,000 “busts” per year) that would equal 100,000 busts in 10 years time. That is a HUGE number, which in turn equals tax payers money wasted, police time wasted, and so many lives wrecked.
I read the “Editors” note where it was stated; in OH while a small amount of cannabis is decriminalized the possession of paraphernalia is illegal and the state historically has rigorously enforced ‘smoke a joint, lose your license’.
That hit me like a ton of bricks.
I have a paraphernalia charge on my record. I lost my license because of it, which caused me to have to take a bus to and from work every day. I lived 45 minutes away from work, so the bus trip took about an hour and a half one way. Again I felt degraded by our system. I had to tell people who I worked with, why I now had to take the bus to work, and because of the bus schedule, I had to alter my work schedule to make sure I had a ride home. I was very thankful that my employers were understanding when this happened, and I knew, that if they weren’t, I could’ve lost my job.
Again, thank you for the wonderful and prompt, insight on this matter.
I just attended an event last night sponsored by NW Ohio NORML – Toledo. The event was in celebration of Issue 1 – a recently passed citizen initiative that significantly decriminalizes marijuana penalties with the Toledo city limits.
The event titled No Time – No Fine Freedom Bash, was a success and allowed me the opportunity to talk to the leadership of NW Ohio NORML.
What came as no surprise, is that the leadership does not support ResponsibleOhio or Issue 3 for the same reasons I have previously outlined (i.e., establishes a monopoly within Ohio’s Constitution, does not address felony marijuana laws, does not allow competition, does not have a caregiver provision to mention a few).
In fact, the president of the Ohio chapter of NORML was recently removed from his position by vote, due to his support for ResponsibleOhio, endorsement of Issue 3 and his bombastic disposition.
Moreover, I have yet to see an official endorsement by the Ohio state chapter of NORML supporting Issue 3.
So my question is: Why the disconnect between Ohio’s regional and state chapter and national NORML when it comes to Issue 3? Could it be that Ohio NORML activists have a more objective view of Issue 3, since they actual live in state and understand the inappropriateness of the limited-competition monopolistic approach to legalization? Or is it that they simply know a bad bill when they read one?
Either way, there seems to be a wide divide between the Ohio regional NORML chapters and the national chapter. Can you explain this divide?
[Editor’s note: The former president of OH NORML was not removed for supporting Initiative 3, there were other attending concerns that led to the no confidence vote.
NORML and the ACLU do not know why a chapter of NORML in OH would favor perpetuating cannabis prohibition in the state. Such can have consequences as NORML chapters that support cannabis prohibition when there are legalization initiatives stand to have the board of directors remove a chapter’s ability to be affiliated with NORML.
Maybe some of the people trying to lead OH NORML will take notice that the medical cannabis rights organization Ohio Rights Group came out publicly on Friday in favor of Initiative 3, supporting what you call ‘a bad bill’.
Too bad you’ll be voting to keep cannabis prohibition in place in OH…along with narcs and pee testers.
Such strange company to keep for someone who purports to be a reformer.]
“Anything is better than nothing!”
Anything as in moldy ditch weed for $200 an ounce, and still being arrested for being in possession of anything used to smoke it.
Today is election day in Ohio. Issue 3, the bill that monopolizes commercial marijuana, is up for a vote.
The polls close in Ohio at 7:30 and the results should be in by 10:00 EST (or at least a clear picture regarding the fate of Issue 3).
CNN has just predicted that Issue 3 will fail (based on exit polling).
If this holds, I would have to say that politics can make strange bedfellows and a very diverse coalition of Ohioans from all walks of life and political persuasions have united to do what is in the best interests of our State.
We banded together and beat a $40, 000,000.00 dollar misinformation campaign wrought by ResponsibleOhio.
A the end of the day, if Issue fails it will do so on its own merits, which, of course, are based in greed, profit over patients and an attempt to manipulate Ohio’s Constitution.
[Editor’s note: If #3 fails…’enjoy’ years of more cannabis prohibition in OH. If you get busted, please don’t contact NORML for legal help!]
Here is my question that I can not seem to find an answer to in ANY article.
Since there are two to choose from and most seem to favor one over the other, what happens if each measure gets 30% in favor?
That would be a total of 60% favoring legalization, but on different terms, yet neither gets close to 50% on their own.
WHAT HAPPENS THEN???
I do not understand how this is going to work if I use weed on Monday and do not use again for 4 days 2 or 4 days later I will test positive if I am in an accident and will go to jail, what are they going to do about testing and what are they going to use and when ?????