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?

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Dear Editor,

Contrary to what television ads may claim, local law enforcement resources and funds are not spent tracking down marijuana smokers. Our drug enforcement efforts focus on other drugs of abuse, such as prescription drugs, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Our local jail is not full of people caught in possession of a small amount of marijuana. In fact, there are very few people incarcerated in Ohio for a primary offense relating to possession of marijuana.

Supporters of Issue 3 will have you believe that marijuana is a harmless drug and should be legalized and regulated, much the same way as alcohol. They believe that as long as marijuana is used responsibly it should be OK. This belief relies on an incredibly dangerous assumption that marijuana will be used responsibly. Simple observation will tell you that alcohol is not used responsibly. Every year, as a result of alcohol use, deputies from this office respond to numerous domestic violence incidents.

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Claims About Registration Forms Sent to Prosecutor.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted Friday sent details about potential voter registration fraud by ResponsibleOhio to the Delaware County prosecutor for possible legal action.

Husted said in a letter to Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O'Brien that voter registration forms submitted by The Strategy Network, the company owned by Ian James, executive director of ResponsibleOhio, appear to include "potential violations of election laws."

The action resulted from an independent inquiry started by the Delaware County Board of Elections of "petition and voter registration irregularities" in ResponsibleOhio's signature-gathering campaign to get the marijuana legalization amendment on the fall ballot. Voters will decide State Issue 3 on Tuesday.

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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.

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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.

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To the Editor: Issue 3 should be passed in the state of Ohio because marijuana arrests distract police from real issues such as heroin users or gun violence.

Fifty-two percent of all drug arrests in 2010 were for marijuana use. With marijuana currently being illegal, it is still widely used for medical and recreational uses. The fact that it is illegal does not stop a majority of users. Making it legal will help medical users obtain it more easily and not have to pay a high price. Yes, with the legalization of weed it will be easier for recreational users to get their hands on it, but that may not be as bad as people think.

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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.

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Pop Singer and Select Ohioans Will See Green If Initiative Passes

Two things you probably haven't been paying a lot of a attention to lately:

Election Day in Ohio. (It's not 2016 yet.)

Former boy-band star a and reality TV spouse Nick L Lachey. (It's not 2003 anymore.) m Well, settle in, be because you have some catching up to do. On Tuesday, Ohio residents go to the polls to decide whether marijuana should be legal. If they vote yes, the Cincinnati native and long-ago leading man of "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" will automatically become one of the top weed kingpins of the Buckeye State.

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Deep-pocketed investors in an Ohio marijuana legalization campaign this fall have been the focus of debate over Tuesday's Issue 3.

Roughly two dozen known individuals - and an indeterminate number of others - will have exclusive rights to 10 initial growing sites located across the state. Among them are an Olympic gold medalist, a former boy band star, a fashion designer and the descendant of a president.

The pro-legalization ResponsibleOhio campaign has argued it was necessary to provide investors a monetary guarantee in order to raise the cash needed to mount an expensive statewide ballot campaign.

Opponents say the arrangement amounts to an economic monopoly designed for personal gain. State legislators placed a proposal banning monopolies from Ohio's constitution on Tuesday's ballot that's intended to nullify marijuana legalization if passed.

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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.

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As a local pediatrician, I feel I must weigh in on the legalization of marijuana. Ohio, please don't do it. Medicinal purposes are one thing, but the current issue legalizes recreational use. The bottom line is this: we know that regular marijuana use under the age of 26 lowers the IQ and that marijuana is a gateway drug. Another thing, just because you can tax something doesn't mean you should legalize it.

Charles Kelly, M.D., Lakeside Park

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Marijuana use for medical purposes should be legal, but use of it for recreational purposes should not ("Ohio's marijuana question: Science still unclear on possible perils of prolonged pot use; Federal regulations impede research," Oct. 25). Some studies of children born to parents who used marijuana during the mother's pregnancy have shown that the permanent effects of marijuana include negatively impacted cognition and memory skills throughout the life of the child.

Secondhand smoke from marijuana, as with tobacco, impairs blood vessel function. That is unfair to people who do not smoke marijuana but may be exposed to it.

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Why is marijuana the only way for some people to have fun? Are there not enough problems from alcohol abuse and the existing use of drugs?

Will there now be the need for additional rehabilitation centers? If marijuana is warranted for medical reasons, then allow physicians to write a prescription. People should vote no on Issue 3.

Fremont

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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.

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The intense debate over State Issue 3, the marijuana-legalization amendment, has overshadowed State Issue 2, which aims to block monopoly interests from carving out a niche in the Ohio Constitution.

A constitutional lawyer says the Issue 2 "cure" could be worse than the "disease" if Ohioans approve the measure in Tuesday's election.

Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a conservative, nonprofit legal center, said Issue 2 would hamper future citizen-driven ballot initiatives, including those seeking tax reforms.

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I wanted to enlighten many to the untold consequences of pot legalization that I have seen first hand at work. Moral issues aside, the legalization of pot in many states has led to an explosion (both literally and figuratively) of fire losses. In those states that have legalized pot, there is no way to prevent "legal" pot from being used to make butane hash oil (BTO). You just simply blast your "legal" pot with butane (lighter fluid), cook the left off over THC/lighter fluid mix (what could go wrong there), and smoke, eat or otherwise consume the dark sludge which is a much better high. I have been involved in 8 figure losses due to butane hash explosions and I would prefer not to handle those types of claims in Ohio too. Luckily, since I'm just a property claim's guy, I will just have to handle the property damage claim, not the fatality claims.

Josh Schaad, Blue Ash

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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.

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Children and Edible Marijuana

We urge Ohioans to vote "No" on State Issue 3, which would grant monopoly rights for the production and sale of marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes in Ohio. It is the worst public policy proposal we have seen in more than 30 years of public service and leadership in drug abuse prevention in our state.

Most alarming about Issue 3 is the threat to our children and youth. It legalizes the sale of marijuana-infused products like cookies, brownies and gummy bears which are inviting to children and have led to severe problems in those states which allow recreational marijuana. According to Children's Hospital Colorado, admissions of children under the age of 12 who ingested edible marijuana spiked sharply in 2014; use by youth ages 12 to 17 in Colorado ranks 56 percent higher than the national average, according to law enforcement reports.

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COLUMBUS (AP) - The group representing NAACP branches in Ohio is urging voters to oppose a proposal on next week's ballot to legalize marijuana for medical and personal use.

The Ohio Conference NAACP president said Tuesday that legalization would represent "tacit approval" of a drug with potentially far-reaching negative effects on families and children.

The proposed constitutional amendment, Issue 3, would let adults 21 and older buy marijuana and grow four plants. It creates a network of 10 authorized growing locations that are targeted in a separate ballot measure prohibiting constitutional monopolies.

Tuesday's announcement marks a split among Ohio's top black leadership. Issue 3 was endorsed by George Forbes, former president of the city council and NAACP in Cleveland.

He says blacks have been disproportionately affected by a failed war on drugs.

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Editor:

I receive several publications from both conservatives and liberals. They tell it like it really is. They tell what the government, states and T.V. news, radio news, and printed news don't want the public to know. Things like states that have legalized marijuana have had a rise in crime by three to five (3 to 5) times higher. Why the rise in crime?

The high price of marijuana for whatever purpose of use is beyond the means of the buyers. The drug addicts or anyone else wanting their fixes (so to speak), can't afford it. So to get their fixes they turn to crime, robberies, break-in of homes and businesses alike, even people on the streets to get money for their marijuana.

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