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]
Legalizing marijuana, an issue that Ohio voters could decide on in November, already is on the minds of candidates seeking elected office in Lorain in May. On April 7, many of Lorain's current and hopeful office-holders gathered at El Centro de Servicios Sociales Inc. in South Lorain for the candidate forum sponsored by the Coalition for Hispanic/ Latino Issues & Progress, or CHIP, of Lorain. At least 40 people crowded the second floor meeting area of El Centro for the forum billed as the foremost candidate event in the county before the May primary. The candidates who spoke are all Democrats who will have contested primary elections on May 5. [continues 527 words]
Daughter Suffers From Seizures Daily. Couple Can't Wait for Ohio Voters to Decide Issue. LIBERTY TWP.- Three-year-old Addyson doesn't understand why her favorite toys, books and everything she knows as home is packed away in boxes. "When she has a seizure, we try to explain to her that 'this is why we're moving, we're going to get help for you and these are going to go away,' "said Heather Benton of her red-headed toddler who suffers hundreds of seizures a day from myoclonic epilepsy. [continues 1129 words]
An Ohio group backing medical marijuana is lobbying state legislators to expand an existing bill for children who suffer from seizures. Ohio Patients Cann wants to see medical marijuana become part of state law, but it would be willing to go to the ballot if necessary, said Bob Bridges of Columbus, the organization's executive director. "This is strictly for patients," he said. "All the other organizations appear to have a financial incentive for full legalization." Bridges, who ran unsuccessfully last fall as a Libertarian candidate for state auditor, said lawmakers and average Ohioans might find his group's limited approach to marijuana legalization to be a better alternative than that of ResponsibleOhio. That group got the go-ahead from the Ohio Ballot Board last week to begin collecting signatures for a fall vote on a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana for personal and medical use. [continues 302 words]
Editor's note: A group called ResponsibleOhio is proposing a state constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana and allow 10 Ohio sites owned and operated by investor groups to grow it. ResponsibleOhio is pushing to get their measure on the November ballot. Today, we hear from ResponsibleOhio as well as from Drug Free Action Alliance, an Ohio nonprofit whose mission is to help prevent substance abuse. We also hear from some of our readers about legalizing marijuana. - Connie Post ResponsibleOhio: A common-sense approach to ending marijuana prohibition [continues 2404 words]
A great deal of debate and conversation is needed about whether the city of Lorain is a good fit for a marijuana growing or processing facility. Last week, ResponsibleOhio, a political action committee, released its draft language for a constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational use in Ohio. The amendment language includes the nearly 77 acres in Lorain's Riverbend Commerce Park off Colorado Avenue. The committee also identified nine other Ohio sites. The language says it wants to provide for the legalization of the use of medical marijuana by patients with debilitating medical conditions as directed by physicians. It also would legalize marijuana for personal use for Ohioans age 21 or older and rules for establishing marijuana product manufacturing facilities, retail marijuana stores and an Ohio Marijuana Control Commission. [continues 522 words]
Middletown Grow Site, Hamilton Ban on Sales Debated. City officials and residents say building an indoor facility to grow pot in Middletown would hurt economic development and the community's image. Forty acres of land along Yankee Road near Todhunter Road would be home to one of 10 indoor marijuana growing facilities if Ohio voters approve a constitutional amendment in November to legalize pot for recreational and medicinal uses. ResponsibleOhio released a 24-page summary of the ballot language Monday that identifies where each of the 10 grow sites will be. [continues 470 words]
Butler County Lawmaker Backing Extract for Seizures. COLUMBUS - A state lawmaker from Butler County is behind a proposed bill that would allow a specific strain of medical marijuana to be used by some Ohio hospitals to develop treatments for seizures. Ohio Reps. Wes Retherford, R-Hamilton, and John M. Rogers, D-Mentor-On-The-Lake, are the primary sponsors of House Bill 33, which would allow Ohio physicians to prescribe a specific oil infused with cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive chemical in cannabis and low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that produces a high in users. Seizure patients could then legally possess this extract and participate in clinical trials. [continues 502 words]
Regarding your Jan. 24 editorial on the disturbing increase in overdose deaths in Ross County, policymakers are going to have to think outside of the drug war box if they are serious about reducing overdose deaths. New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that states with open medical marijuana access have a 25 percent lower opioid overdose death rate than marijuana prohibition states. This research finding has huge implications for states like Ohio that are grappling with prescription narcotic and heroin overdose deaths. [continues 98 words]
Initiative Aims to Put Legalized Marijuana Issue on Ohio Ballot. Columbus - Former and current COLUMBUS pro-athletes, real estate developers, a fashion designer and a sports agent are among the investors backing a campaign to ask voters this fall to legalize marijuana in Ohio for personal and medicinal use. ResponsibleOhio, which is campaigning for a constitutional amendment, on Friday disclosed the following partial list of its financial backers: Oscar Robertson, former basketball player for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Cincinnati Royals. [continues 399 words]
Some of the investors in a for-profit marijuana ballot issue were revealed yesterday, including basketball legend Oscar Robertson and fashion designer Nanette Lepore. But Ohioans still aren't getting the list of all investors or being told how much individuals gave. ResponsibleOhio, the group proposing a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana for personal recreational and medicinal use, reported raising $1.78 million and spending $1.34 million on its campaign. Reports filed with Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted cited total amounts contributed, but no individuals were listed. Instead, there are investment groups, headquartered in Cincinnati and Chicago, which each contributed from $20,000 to $150,000. [continues 330 words]
A ballot initiative to legalize marijuana and create a forprofit industry was ripped yesterday by some of Ohio's top elected officials, who called it "outrageous" and a "stupid idea" to create a dangerous constitutional monopoly. "I don't know (if) I've ever seen a worse idea than this," Secretary of State Jon Husted said at a Columbus forum sponsored by the Associated Press. Auditor Dave Yost called it "outrageous we are creating business monopolies by ballot issues. ... What's next, 12 monopolies for whorehouses in the 12 largest counties?" [continues 453 words]
COLUMBUS (AP) - Four of Ohio's statewide officers expressed opposition Thursday to an effort to legalize medical and recreational marijuana, with the state's attorney general calling one proposal "a stupid idea." The plan would amend the Ohio Constitution to make marijuana legal for medical and personal use for those over 21 years old. Supporters envision a network of 10 growers sending the product to designated testing facilities for safety and potency screenings. The pot would then go to either not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries, retail outlets or to be infused into various consumer products. [continues 564 words]
I-75 an artery for trafficking LIMA - For many, Interstate 75 is a main artery for drug trafficking - pumping drugs throughout the country. 2015 has proved no different thus far. While I-75 is an integral part in the drug trade, officers have begun noticing drug smugglers traveling on smaller routes in the country to avoid detection. Drugs know no boundaries as smugglers hired by drug cartels are not categorized by race, sex, age or background. Detroit The northern city is a large player in the drug trade, Lima Police Chief Kevin Martin said. Traffickers will generally pass through Lima on their way to and from Detroit. [continues 777 words]
Ohioans Should Reject Proposal That Would Create Legal Drug Cartel The latest in a string of proposals to legalize marijuana in Ohio provides another example of a secretive, self-serving group trying to disguise its motives while pushing a supposedly consumer- and taxpayer-friendly scheme on voters. The backers of the latest plan have taken a bad idea and made it worse. The group, laughably calling itself ResponsibleOhio, is gathering signatures for a November ballot issue that would legalize the drug for medical and recreational use - something only four states so far have done - but allow a cartel of only 10 individuals or investor groups to have exclusive rights to operate one of 10 legal marijuana businesses in the state. [continues 377 words]
If Ballot Issue Passes, State Would Go From Ban to Full Legalization. COLUMBUS - An ambitious plan backed by deep-pocketed financiers and experienced political operatives aims to cut a new path to legalizing marijuana - and it is drawing opposition even before ResponsibleOhio has publicly released all its details. If voters approve ResponsibleOhio's ballot issue in November, Ohio could become the first state in the country to go from a complete ban to full legalization, skipping the typical step of first authorizing medical marijuana. Efforts are underway to do the same in Missouri. [continues 1187 words]
GRANVILLE - The Granville Village Council is considering changes to the village code that would stiffen language that now appears to allow medical use of marijuana. If the proposal is adopted, it would align the language more with the Ohio Revised Code, which disallows use of marijuana for medical purposes. It also would make driver's license suspensions connected with marijuana offenses mandatory rather than discretionary. A public hearing will be conducted Sept. 3 for Ordinance No. 12-2014, which was introduced by the council Wednesday night. [continues 398 words]
Amherst-Based ORG Says Flat Funds Killed Ballot Hopes An Amherst-based push to legalize medical marijuana and industrial hemp won't make it to the November ballot. "The good news is we obviously got well over 100,000 signatures," said Amherst Township resident John Pardee, president of the Ohio Rights Group. "It's probably going to end up in the neighborhood of 120,000 when it's all said and done." The bad news is that 385,000 verified signatures were needed to qualify for a statewide vote. [continues 379 words]
Marijuana as medicine it is a term that is now widely used and widely accepted. It is a concept that has some singing the praises of this plant, claiming near-miraculous results from the use. When we really look closer, however, marijuana is more like one of those infomercials late at night that make claims of miraculous weight loss, stick-free cooking and unbelievably better skin. Those lengthy commercials all have the stories from "satisfied customers," who claim that the product not only delivers the specified results but makes other aspects of their own lives so much better. [continues 516 words]