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OTHER TAFTS WRONG ABOUT MARIJUANA

Despite their good intentions, Bob and Hope Taft are misguided and misinformed regarding Issue 3 ( "Marijuana dangerous to kids, adults" Sept.  24 ).  They call the amendment the "worst public policy proposal" they have seen, but their conclusion is specious when one considers the facts: Since marijuana was legalized in Colorado, traffic fatalities are down 6 percent, arrests are down 10 percent, violent crime and heroin overdose deaths are down and teen use of marijuana is down 2 percent.

Bob and Hope are simply wrong that Issue 3 will legalize candies and other edibles that are "inviting to children." The third paragraph of the amendment clearly states that edibles will not be "manufactured, packaged or advertised in ways that create a substantial risk of attractiveness to children." What edibles are actually sold in Ohio will be determined by a newly created and independent Ohio Marijuana Control Commission.

Bob and Hope might also want to consider who is less likely to sell to kids: a well-regulated business or the guy hanging out on the corner?

Just under 6 percent of adult Ohioans smoke marijuana on a regular basis.  If marijuana indeed has the negative effects Issue 3's detractors describe, then where are those effects now?

And let's not forget that people suffering from the effects of chemotherapy, Crohn's disease and other diseases are currently denied safe access to all forms of medical marijuana that can vastly improve their quality of life.

Issue 3 will cause marijuana to be controlled, tested and taxed in Ohio.  It will make marijuana safer for Ohioans and it will make Ohio safer for all of us.

Woody Taft and Dudley Taft Jr.,

Indian Hill