The 24 known investors bought into a plan establishing 10 exclusive commercial growing sites in Ohio. There is a doctor, a developer, an NBA legend, a fashion designer, a knight, an ex-boyband member, a professional football player and descendants of a U.S. president. Despite their widely varied backgrounds, investors in the for-profit ResponsibleOhio marijuana-legalization plan have something in common: They all want to make money, and lots of it. The 24 known investors bought into a plan establishing 10 exclusive commercial marijuana-growing sites across the state. The list of investors does not include those who bought shares from the original investors but whose names are not disclosed on U.S. Securities Exchange Commission forms. [continues 1232 words]
The proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational and medical marijuana use was the subject of a forum Monday at the University of Toledo that had advocates but no opponents. About 60 people attended the invitation-only event that was planned as an informational session for mental health and substance-abuse professionals and elected officials. Scott Sylak, director of the Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services, said after his first anti-Issue 3 speaker backed out, he tried Friday to get someone from the newly organized anti-Issue 3 group to attend, but they had no one knowledgeable about the proposed amendment. [continues 653 words]
State Voters Consider Tax Revenues, Addiction Issues and Monopolies. COLUMBUS- University of Dayton junior George Cleary said he didn't vote in the last presidential election or last year's election but will vote this year because marijuana legalization is on the ballot. "I think it should pass not only for the taxes but for the government - - what they'll be able to make and put back into the system," he said. ResponsibleOhio, the group of deep-pocket investors and savvy political consultants that succeeded in getting pot legalization on the November ballot, is counting on young people like Cleary - an inconsistent voting group in past elections - to turn out in numbers that help push the issue over the top. [continues 1488 words]
Two photos speak volumes about the fledgling campaign opposing marijuana legalization in Ohio. A picture of a child's hand reaching into a jar for a tempting gummy hints at the daunting possibility that kids might eat cookies and candy laced with marijuana, with resulting serious health effects. The second photo, an adult's hand slipping a $100 bill into a suit pocket, hits proponents for seeking to carve a moneymaking marijuana monopoly into the Ohio Constitution. Ohioans Against Marijuana Monopolies, the coalition opposing the Issue 3 marijuana-legalization ballot issue, will need all the imagery it can get. The opposition campaign is a mile wide in terms of supporters but an inch deep in financial resources. [continues 515 words]
DENVER - A 21st century version of the Colorado Gold Rush is underway. Three years ago, 55 percent of Colorado voters said yes to Amendment 64, a statewide ballot initiative that legalized the purchase and recreational use of marijuana by anyone 21 or older. The resulting "Green Rush" might offer insights into what Ohioans could expect if they vote to legalize marijuana - something it appears they'll have an opportunity to do this fall. Secretary of State Jon Husted confirmed on Wednesday that the group ResponsibleOhio had collected enough valid signatures to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot. [continues 689 words]
The priest who recently wrote the opinion article against the legalization of marijuana ("Legalizing marijuana would open the door to plenty of problems: the Rev. Thomas Haren, July 19 on cleveland.com) panders to the gospel of fears and false truths. He is feeding his imagination with half-truths and total reefer madness propaganda. Further his bias of fear helps to further discriminate against people of color and destroy the hopes of millions of suffering people who could be helped. In states with medical marijuana, painkiller deaths drop by 25 percent [continues 447 words]
The stage is set for a high-stakes game of power politics as Ohioans decide whether they want to legalize the personal and medicinal use of marijuana. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted certified on Wednesday that ResponsibleOhio has enough valid signatures of registered voters to qualify its marijuana-legalization issue for the Nov. 3 ballot. Voters also will see an anti-monopoly constitutional amendment on the ballot, hurriedly cobbled together by state lawmakers in June. That amendment aims to derail the marijuana issue by preventing economic monopolies from being carved into the Ohio Constitution. [continues 600 words]
Ohio will vote on a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana in November, state officials have announced. If the measure passes, Ohio would become the first Midwestern state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, joining four other states and the District of Columbia. A pro-marijuana group, ResponsibleOhio, gathered enough signatures to place the measure on the ballot, Secretary of State Jon Husted said in a statement this week. The group needed 305,267 signatures and got 320,267 after initially coming up short in June. [continues 142 words]
Backers of a proposed marijuana-legalization amendment filed 95,572 additional signatures with the state on Thursday, probably enough to qualify the issue for the Nov. 3 ballot. That won't be official, however, for another week or so until boards of election tally and Secretary of State Jon Husted verifies that ResponsibleOhio has at least 29,509 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters. That is the number the marijuana issue fell short of on its first submission on July 20. [continues 326 words]
Ohio's smoldering marijuana legalization debate flared up on Wednesday as Secretary of State Jon Husted launched an investigation of ResponsibleOhio's petition and the group countered with a harassment allegation written by a former Ohio Supreme Court justice. All this came on the eve of today's make-or-break deadline for ResponsibleOhio to submit additional valid signatures of registered voters to qualify for the Nov. 3 general-election ballot. ResponsibleOhio fell nearly 30,000 signatures short of the number required to get on the fall ballot. The shortfall triggered a dispute between ResponsibleOhio and Husted's office. The group must turn in enough new valid signatures by today to fill the gap and qualify for the ballot. [continues 443 words]
Leading up to a November ballot-box showdown over marijuana legalization, ResponsibleOhio is suited up, on the field, and has lots of strength on the bench. The opposition, meanwhile, isn't near the stadium, has no uniforms and lacks enough players to even field a team. If nothing else, the marijuana legalization debate shows that ResponsbileOhio is no fly-bynight organization of potheads. It's a diverse, business-oriented team that includes veteran Republican strategist Neil Clark and 270 Strategies, a group which helped run President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. [continues 1013 words]
Voters May See Two Competing Issues on November's Ballot. Ohio voters may face competing issues on the ballot in November - one to legalize marijuana and another to block the pot plan and any attempts to install a monopoly into the state constitution. The Ohio House voted 8112 on Wednesday in favor of a resolution to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that could make the voter results of a proposed pot ballot issue moot. State Rep. Mike Curtin, DMarble Cliff, the resolution's co-sponsor, said it'll guard against political operators using the citizen initiative process to create constitutionally-sanctioned monopolies for business interests. [continues 349 words]
Lawmakers Move to Block Pot Legalization Plan Even If It Passes. State lawmakers are taking steps to block groups from installing private property rights in the Ohio Constitution - much like the casino owners did and the advocates for legalizing marijuana want to do this fall - and legal experts are predicting that the move will invite legal challenges. The Ohio House is expected to vote as early as next week and the Senate soon after on a resolution to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. If Ohio voters approve the amendment,it would block the marijuana legalization plan that is expected to also be on the ballot - even if voters say yes to legal marijuana,according to the resolution. [continues 813 words]
Even before Ohio voters decide whether they want to legalize marijuana, backers of the issue are pushing ahead with the next step - - a way to expunge past criminal records of some marijuana users. Ian James, spokesman for ResponsibleOhio, the group that wants to put a marijuana-legalization amendment to the state's constitution on the Nov. 3 general-election ballot, said signature collection will begin next month on a follow-up proposal called the Fresh Start Act. Wording of the proposed initiated statute was not available, but James said it will be modeled on laws in other states that allow prior convictions for possession of small amounts of marijuana - typically less than 8 ounces - to be reviewed by a court and expunged. It would not apply to drug-trafficking convictions. [continues 316 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Language in a proposal to amend Ohio's constitution and legalize sale, use and possession of marijuana in the state has employers antsy over the impact it could have, despite a legal analysis that says they will retain strong workplace control. The amendment's backers said they sought to protect employers, writing in language stating businesses should not have to accommodate use of marijuana products in the workplace. But a provision that appears to provide an exception for patients certified to use medical marijuana has stirred questions that one legal expert suggests might not be cleared up without court rulings. [continues 869 words]
A majority of Ohioans, 52 percent, now support legalizing marijuana. Approval is even higher for medical use, at 84 percent. Both numbers indicate a turnaround in public opinion. More, there are sound public policy reasons for moving forward with legalization, the state in a position to control quality and access, generate tax revenue and prevent users from facing criminal penalties. Still, legalization is a complex issue. Just four other states permit marijuana consumption for recreational purposes. Some moved forward after first allowing fairly widespread medical use. Once recreational use was approved, the actions of many medical consumers became something of an unintended consequence. They may have gamed the system to stick with the medical avenue, thus circumventing the tax structure and depriving the state of revenue. [continues 384 words]
As Likely Vote Nears in Ohio, Support Comes From Unlikely Places. COLUMBUS - No matter what happens to a proposed constitutional amendment to make marijuana legal in Ohio, polls show a growing acceptance for legalization in this country - including a majority who think recreational use of marijuana should be legal. And the support is coming from unlikely corners. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is a law-and-order Republican who has spent most of his career putting away bad guys in Ohio's third-largest county. But Deters, who announced last week that he'll head up a 10-person task force to look at the impact of legalization, is rethinking whether going after marijuana users is worth the public expense. [continues 1815 words]
Ohio Lawmaker Calls Ballot Initiative Bad Public Policy. State lawmakers are discussing political strategies to blunt ResponsibleOhio as the campaign gets closer to putting a constitutional amendment before voters this fall to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational uses. On Monday, state Rep. Mike Curtin, D-Marble Cliff, called on fellow lawmakers to urge voters to defeat the ResponsibleOhio proposal on the grounds that it's bad public policy to carve commercial interests into the state constitution. "My sense is we need to start educating the public on this sooner rather than later because the supporters of this amendment are going to have a ton of money to spend and the opposition side will not. So I think we need to start now to outline what this is really all about," said Curtin, the former editor and associate publisher of the Columbus Dispatch. [continues 383 words]
Legalization Backers: Police Can Focus More on Serious Crime. but Sheriff Says Plan Won't Curb Violence. Supporters of a controversial plan to legalize marijuana in Ohio say one of the benefits to the public is that law enforcement could focus more on serious crime. But Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer scoffs at the notion of marijuana legalization as a crime-fighting tool. "You will still have a black market and that is where most of our violence comes from," said Plummer, arguing that the proposed constitutional amendment would do nothing to stop the smuggling and sale of unregulated and non-taxed marijuana. "The home invasions, the drug robberies, the rip-offs, the homicides - the majority of them are related to the drug trade." [continues 894 words]
Polls show support, but ballot drive faces legal, social hurdles First of three parts Nearly 80 years since the United States effectively declared marijuana an illegal drug, support for legalization is spreading like a weed. In the past three years, voters in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have voted to allow the recreational use of pot. This year, Ohio voters will likely be asked to join the cannabis cavalcade. That proposal, generated by a group calling itself ResponsibleOhio, is well into the signature-gathering process. Given its resources, estimated at more than $40 million, gathering signatures will likely not be its hardest task. [continues 2345 words]
