At Least Four Groups Are Now Pursuing Future Ballot Initiatives. COLUMBUS - The good ole-fashioned butt-kicking Ohio voters delivered to ResponsibleOhio Tuesday won't scare off pro-pot forces from trying again. No less than four marijuana groups are talking about or circulating petitions to get on the statewide ballot, some as early as next year. Even ResponsibleOhio vows to return with another proposal to present to voters. Jacob Wagner of LegalizeOhio2016, one of the four groups, said the defeat of Issue 3 cleared the decks for a cleaner, less controversial marijuana legalization plan. [continues 1363 words]
Issue 3 - the proposed Ohio marijuana monopoly - suffered a jaw-dropping loss Tuesday. But that doesn't mean another Issue 3-like ballot issue won't surface again, maybe as soon as next year. That's despite such startling facts as the rejection of Issue 3 in all 88 counties, even party-hearty Athens. Likewise, the Western Reserve's liberal citadel, Oberlin, voted against Issue 3. For that matter, Issue 3 failed to carry one of the four precincts in tie-dyed Yellow Springs. [continues 548 words]
State Issue 3 Was the Wrong Way to Approach Marijuana Legalization By a margin of nearly 2 to 1, Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a scheme to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. There are a variety of reasons for the resounding defeat, but one thing is clear: Ohioans felt that Issue 3 was the wrong way to go. The fact that voters also approved anti-monopoly Issue 2, which will make it harder for self-interested parties to amend the Ohio Constitution for personal gain, shows that the monopoly aspect was a big negative factor that united people across the political and ideological spectrum against Issue 3. Even many of those who generally favor marijuana legalization chafed at well-heeled backers trying to cut themselves a sweetheart deal and enshrine it into the constitution. [continues 424 words]
I just want to thank God and the 65 percent of the clear-thinking Ohioans who voted to oppose the legalization of marijuana, including those who voted against it because it is a moral issue to them and, in the end, just an asinine idea - not just because it gave a monopoly to a handful of money changers. When one considers the Mexican cartels and gangs that are responsible for much of the violence in the streets of America in an attempt to control the drug trade, one has to give a good share of the blame to those who use it and are in favor of legalizing it. [continues 109 words]
After years of resistance, Republican legislative leaders now are heading down the path toward legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. At the same time, ResponsibleOhio marijuana investor Dr. Suresh Gupta said on Wednesday that the marijuana campaign that stumbled badly on Tuesday will be back, possibly next year, with a plan that doesn't involve a monopoly. "Absolutely. We're not here to run away," said Gupta, a Dayton anesthesiologist and pain-management physician who owns a proposed pot-growing site in Pataskala. [continues 975 words]
The sheer size of Tuesday's crushing electoral defeat of marijuana legalization in the Buckeye State surprised political experts inside and out of Ohio. Despite a $20 million campaign, Issue 3 lost. Amid its smoking wreckage, six reasons emerge to explain what happened to Issue 3 - and what happens next. The business plan. "Boy, that word monopoly. It's been an ugly word in politics since Theodore Roosevelt's day," political scientist David Niven at the University of Cincinnati said Tuesday night. Issue 3 was unique in the history of the modern legalization movement in that it would have written into the Ohio Constitution provisions to limit the cultivation of the state's crop to 10 already-chosen properties. Issue 3's backers said the plan's advantage would have been to allow the state to tightly regulate marijuana at the grow source. The technical term for such an economic model is oligopoly. But the term "monopoly" got slapped on Issue 3 from the outset, and Issue 3 backers could never run it down. [continues 640 words]
Yes on Issue 1 We strongly support Issue 1 on the Ohio ballot this Tuesday. It sets up a much fairer process for drawing district lines for Ohio House of Representative and Senate seats. Under the current corrupt system, maps for state legislative and congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years, after updated Census numbers are released. A five-member state Apportionment Board, whose members include the governor, secretary of state, state auditor and a legislator from each major party, draws the legislative districts. A simple majority wins any vote on the board, so the party that controls the board (Republican in recent years) has absolute control over how the legislative lines are drawn. [continues 1267 words]
A closer look at the economic forces driving ResponsibleOhio's controversial plan to establish 10 wholesale marijuana growers in the state-and some of the plan's potential consequences Ohioans have heard a whole lot about pot this year. In August, ResponsibleOhio gathered enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the fall ballot that would legalize both medical and recreational marijuana use. The ResponsibleOhio plan-also known as Issue 3-began attracting controversy long before the coming Nov. 3 vote, sparking heated debate over issues that typically surround marijuana legalization, including how it would impact public health and safety and concern over easier access for minors. But the section of ResponsibleOhio's proposed amendment that's attracted the most controversy centers not on how marijuana would be consumed, but how it would be grown. [continues 1156 words]
2nd Statewide Ballot Question Could Nullify Yes Vote for Cannabis COLUMBUS - Two issues on this week's ballot stand alone, but the fate of one may depend on the other. Ohio is about to make a historic decision on Issue 3. Should the state become the first east of Colorado to legalize marijuana for recreational, medical, and commercial purposes? But state voters also have a decision to make on Issue 2. Should private individuals have the right to etch their own commercial monopolies into the Ohio Constitution? [continues 619 words]
The television commercials, direct-mail ads, endorsements and debates are over: It's time to decide whether marijuana will be legal in Ohio. Eyes across the country will be on the Buckeye State on Tuesday to see what voters decide on State Issue 3, the for-profit constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana in smokable and edible form for recreational use for those 18 or older, and for patients of any age with qualifying medical conditions. The warring campaigns - ResponsibleOhio and Ohioans Against Marijuana Monopolies - are as different as you can imagine. [continues 755 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio - As a member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, a collector of antique marijuana apothecary jars, the founder of an industrial hemp business and "a pot smoker consistently for 47 years," Don Wirtshafter, an Ohio lawyer, has fought for decades to make marijuana legal, calling it "my life's work." But when Ohio voters go to the polls Tuesday to consider a constitutional amendment to allow marijuana for both medical and personal use, Mr. Wirtshafter will vote against it. [continues 1193 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio - As a member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, a collector of antique marijuana apothecary jars, the founder of an industrial hemp business and "a pot smoker consistently for 47 years," Don Wirtshafter, an Ohio lawyer, has fought for decades to make marijuana legal, calling it "my life's work." But when Ohio voters go to the polls Tuesday to consider a constitutional amendment to allow marijuana for both medical and personal use, Wirtshafter will vote against it. Issue 3, as the proposed amendment is known, is bankrolled by wealthy investors spending nearly $25 million to put it on the ballot and sell it to voters. If it passes, they would have exclusive rights to growing commercial marijuana in Ohio. [continues 1049 words]
Tactics for Opponents, Supporters Differ Greatly in Campaign for Marijuana Legalization Columbus - One side is spending money, the other side - for the most part - isn't. One side has the backing of some 100 organizations, while the other side boasts the star power of people like former boy band singer Nick Lachey. One side is banking on a strong turnout of young people while the other side hopes it can sway voters with warnings of the potential harm done to young people. [continues 1080 words]
The contradiction of Issue 3 is that ResponsibleOhio will not be responsible for anything but the profit. The taxpayers and the state of Ohio will be the ones who would be responsible for compliance with this outrageous constitutional amendment. ResponsibleOhio claims that there have not been known deaths from marijuana overdose, but it does not address the many deaths from marijuana use. These deaths resulted from activities that the deceased participated in while under the influence of this mind-altering substance and deaths when marijuana use led to the use of other narcotics. [continues 287 words]
To the Editor: This is a plea for a rational and compassionate perspective on the issue of medical marijuana. I must be honest. It is personal for me as I suffer from multiple sclerosis. The opinions expressed here, however, were formed long before it became a personal issue. My objectivity has not changed, but my compassion has deepened. Many years after Congress passed laws criminalizing the use of any marijuana, it once again is recognized as a legitimate medicine. To continue to argue that marijuana has no known medical use is an erroneous argument. The May 25 issue of TIME and the June 15 issue of National Geographic, for example, cite some of the research establishing the medical usefulness of marijuana and the hopes researchers have for it. [continues 415 words]
Wake up, Ohio voters! Issue 3 is not about legalization of medicinal marijuana. It is snake oil being sold to the public as the legalization of medicinal marijuana. The collateral damage of Issue 3 is a few rich people get richer and our kids, schools, businesses and communities pay the price. I will go out on a limb and say that the majority of Ohio voters want medicinal marijuana legalized as it is in 23 other states and Washington, D.C. Why not let our lawmakers and medical professionals draft a bill that accomplishes this task all while not amending our state's constitution to protect private business interests? David Denoyer, Kenwood [end]
I am encouraged by The Blade's stand on Issue 3 and by your articles explaining the details of the possible pitfalls if Ohio voters approve the legalizing-marijuana issue ("Yes on Issue 2, No on 3," editorial, Oct. 11). The issue has been crammed down our throats by ResponsibleOhio, which is a misnomer. Many responsible people agree that there are numerous reasons to question the wisdom of rushing into the unknown territory of long-term effects of marijuana use. Unfortunately, the inclusion of legalizing medical marijuana will draw yes votes from those who do not see or care about the whole picture. That too is part of the scheme of ResponsibleOhio. I favor and hope for a bill legalizing medical marijuana as a separate issue. It should have been done that way in the first place. If this controversial issue is passed, there is no turning back. Voters should not let Ohio go to pot. Meadowwood Drive [end]
Powered by a small core of big-money investors, marijuana-legalization advocates outraised opponents 16-to-1 in the last campaign-finance reports filed before Election Day, Nov. 3. ResponsibleOhio, the group backing state Issue 3, the marijuana-legalization amendment, reported having spent $15.4 million on the campaign, $12 million of that in the past three months. The group has been waging an all-out campaign dominated by 30-second television commercials and directmail advertising. A report filed on Thursday with Secretary of State Jon Husted showed ResponsibleOhio receiving more than $11.9 million from July 1 to the Oct. 14 cutoff and spending about the same amount. [continues 610 words]
Issue 3 to Benefit Sick, Shut Down Ohio Drug Dealers. Now is the time to legalize marijuana in Ohio. According to a Quinnipiac poll conducted earlier this month, the majority of Ohioans support legalization. Ninety percent of Ohioans support the legalization of medical marijuana and 53 percent of Ohioans support legalizing marijuana for adult, personal use. Despite such positive public opinion, our state lawmakers have continuously failed to act on marijuana reform for the past 18 years. Since 1997, there has been legislation at the Statehouse to address medical marijuana for the chronically ill. And even as people continue to suffer and 9 out of 10 of us agree on providing compassionate care to sick Ohioans, lawmakers refuse to act. [continues 676 words]
Issue 3 to Hinder Law Enforcement, Ohio Employers. Few proposed constitutional amendments have been more at odds with common-sense public policy than Issue 3. Its problems are varied, but Issue 3 starts by putting Ohio law in direct conflict with federal law, creating a legal quagmire on multiple fronts. Issue 3 would create problems for Ohio peace officers, who sign an oath to support state and federal laws. If it were to pass, marijuana would be legal in Ohio but illegal under federal law. That's the quandary they would face. [continues 655 words]
