Pubdate: Mon, 28 Sep 2015
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
Copyright: 2015 The Cincinnati Enquirer
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/aeNtfDqb
Website: http://www.cincinnati.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86
Authors: Woody Taft and Dudley Taft Jr.

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
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom