Auditor Dave Yost characterized the Department of Commerce's roll-out of its share of the fledgling program as "sloppy" with dozens of errors and inconsistencies. The program was supposed to be fully operational Sept. 8, but the state is months behind in having legal product on the shelves for purchase. "The department didn't do a very good job launching this program," Mr. Yost said. "It did not exercise due diligence to make sure Ohioans could have complete confidence in the process. The department's work was sloppy. Ohioans deserved better." [continues 368 words]
COLUMBUS - Mike DeWine, Ohio's attorney general and Republican candidate for governor, on Monday denounced as "irresponsible and dangerous" a proposed constitutional amendment to downgrade low-level, non-violent drug felonies to misdemeanors. He stood with prosecutors, judges, treatment center operators, and addicts to argue that Issue 1 would remove the stick that gets addicts into treatment as an alternative to prison time. "This threat, carefully used by our judges, has saved thousands and thousands of lives," Mr. DeWine said. "Issue 1 would take that away, and thousands would remain in the grips of opioids by not getting the treatment they need to recover. Because the truth is that some people just don't go into treatment unless they are pushed to do it. There's nothing humane about Issue 1." [continues 587 words]
COLUMBUS - One day after Ohio announced its choices for larger growing sites that would fuel a fledgling medical marijuana industry, a legal challenge was announced that could throw a wrench into the works. Ironically, such a lawsuit would be filed by some of the chief players behind 2015's failed ResponsibleOhio ballot initiative that would have legalized marijuana for both medical and recreational use. "Whether we end up with a license or we don't end up with a license, that's not what this is about..." said Jimmy Gould, chairman and chief executive of CannAscend Ohio. "I care that this process is broken. I care that there should have been better oversight over this process, and I care where this ends up.... [continues 578 words]
COLUMBUS - Louis Johnson, managing director of OMNI Medical Services, showed up Monday at a hearing about proposed rules governing physicians under Ohio's newly legal-medical marijuana program in hope the murky waters of "affirmative defense" might be cleared a bit. But he never heard the words mentioned in testimony before the hearing officer, and the words won't be found in the rules written by the Ohio Medical Board. "It's confusing a lot of municipalities and a lot of courtrooms..." Mr. Johnson said afterward. "They're applying the wait-for-the-state-is-ready rules to affirmative defense, and that's not how [the law] is written." [continues 729 words]
COLUMBUS - Gov. John Kasich today signed another bill targeting Ohio's opiate and heroin epidemic. In 2015, Ohio led the nation in opioid overdose deaths. Senate Bill 319, sponsored by Sen. John Eklund (R., Chardon), expands access to the anti-overdose drug naloxone to entities such as homeless shelters, halfway houses, schools, and treatment centers that deal with populations at high risk of heroin overdose. It also offers civil immunity to law enforcement officers who carry and use naloxone. "We have spent a billion dollars on this issue. A billion dollars...," Mr. Kasich said. "Thank God we expanded Medicaid, because that Medicaid money is helping to rehab people...There are going to be more tools to come, but we're not going to defeat this just from the top down." [continues 228 words]
COLUMBUS - In a case closely watched by law enforcement statewide, a sharply divided Ohio Supreme Court on Friday said prosecutors must prove the weight of the actual cocaine - and not fillers - to get stiffer sentences in drug busts. For Rafael Gonzales, 58, convicted in Wood County in 2012 of first-degree felony cocaine possession, the 4-3 decision means his 11-year sentence could be slashed to one. Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, writing for the majority, said state law's definition of "cocaine" does not provide for fillers such as baking soda. [continues 675 words]
COLUMBUS - In the biggest shift in state drug policy in decades, the Ohio House voted 71-26 on Tuesday to legalize marijuana for medical use only. The bill heads to the Senate, where hearings will begin today. Republican House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger voiced confidence that a bill could reach Gov. John Kasich's desk before the General Assembly recesses for the summer before Memorial Day. Kasich spokesman Joe Andrews said the governor has not committed to signing this bill, but would sign one if it "is written properly and there is a need for it." [continues 722 words]
Hearings Across the State to Gauge Ohioans' Feelings. COLUMBUS - Ohio voters convincingly rejected the marijuana-legalization proposal on November's ballot, but state lawmakers will explore the possibility of allowing the use of pot for medical purposes only. Multiple polls have shown strong support for the concept of medical marijuana. The Ohio Senate and House will announce as early as this week a series of bipartisan hearings across the state to gauge Ohioans' feelings on what that system might look like. [continues 588 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]
COLUMBUS - A poll released Thursday showed that more than half of Ohio voters believe that adults' personal use of small amounts of marijuana should be legal. When it comes to just medical use, support soars to 90 percent, according to the Quinnipiac Poll. The poll questions, however, were broadly phrased for voters in the presidential swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida and were not specifically tailored to Issue 3. That's the pot legalization and commercialization question on the Nov. 3 ballot, on which Ohioans are already voting. [continues 493 words]
90 Percent of Voters Support Medical Purposes COLUMBUS - More than half of Ohio voters support the personal use of marijuana by adults with support soaring to 90 percent for just medical purposes, according to a Quinnipiac Poll released today. These questions of support were posed generally to registered voters in presidential swing states Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida and did not ask voters specifically about the legalization and commercialization ballot issue on which Ohioans are already voting for the Nov. 3 election. [continues 374 words]
Amendment would leave many decisions to new bipartisan Ohio Commission of Cannabis Control on dispensing medical marijuana and the Department of Agriculture on hemp production. Backers of the third attempt in less than two years to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio insist the latest effort will take root as it did in Michigan. "There's far more interest in people backing this one, particularly those who want to bring people into the political arena in 2014," said Bob Fitrakis, a member of the Ohio Rights Group behind the latest effort. [continues 580 words]
COLUMBUS - Backers of the third attempt in less than two years to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio insist the latest effort will take root as it did in Michigan. "There's far more interest in people backing this one, particularly those who want to bring people into the political arena in 2014," said Bob Fitrakis, a member of the Ohio Rights Group behind the latest effort. The group just cleared two hurdles to get petition circulators out. Both Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Ohio Ballot Board have signed off on language that would be shown to potential petition signers. [continues 676 words]
Opposition Awaits Possible Legislation COLUMBUS - From football to taxes, the rivalry between Ohio and its neighbor up north is the stuff of legend. But when it comes to legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, Ohio is showing little sign of following Michigan's lead. A bill is being negotiated behind the scenes for possible introduction this fall, but even the concept's strongest supporters know it faces an improbable climb in the General Assembly. The spear carrier this time may be Rep. Kenny Yuko (D., Richmond Heights), who believes he has a special perspective given his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. [continues 592 words]
Ohio High Court Throws Out Drug Evidence COLUMBUS - The Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the state constitution provides greater protection against self-incrimination than the U.S. Constitution as it threw out evidence that helped to convict a motorist of possessing drug paraphernalia. In reversing two lower-court rulings, the high court split 4-3 in finding that evidence obtained from the search of a vehicle's trunk could not be used against the driver when the search was based on questioning begun before the suspect had been read his constitutional rights. [continues 527 words]
Ohio Ruling Says Harsher Penalties Can Be Imposed Only If 'Recklessness' Is Verified COLUMBUS - Imposing more jail time on drug dealers plying their trade near schools could prove more difficult under a 5-2 Ohio Supreme Court ruling issued yesterday. Simply committing the crime within 1,000 feet of a school is not enough, the court found. Justice Paul Pfeifer, writing for the majority, drew a distinction between the school vicinity language and another portion of the same law calling for stiffer penalties if the crime was committed within 100 feet or within view of a juvenile, regardless of whether the offender was aware of it. [continues 428 words]
Ford Says Community-Based Programs Can't Replace Residential Treatment COLUMBUS - Employees of the Maumee Youth Center told a House subcommittee yesterday the facility is the best at what it does. "Fifty-nine of our population received their GEDs last year," said Maumee training officer Terry Stiger. "You won't find that number at other institutions. ... Don't close a facility that has done so much for so long." But the director of the Ohio Department of Youth Services told the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Safety that a fenceless, medium-security facility for low-level felons next to federally protected wetlands and a state forest no longer fits the department's long-term needs. [continues 463 words]
ATHENS, OH - A son of Ohio Lt. Gov. Maureen O'Connor is due in court next week to face a felony cocaine possession charge. Alex J. Kipp, 21, of Akron, faces a maximum prison sentence of 12 months and a $2,500 fine, but his attorney said yesterday he is unlikely to do jail time for a fifth-degree felony, if convicted. According to Athens city police, a baggy containing 0.7 of a gram of cocaine was found in Mr. Kipp's car Friday night when he was pulled over for running a stoplight. [continues 189 words]
