Two issues will be on the ballot in the upcoming election having to do with the legalization of marijuana in Ohio, something that I’m ardently in favor of. But what I’m not in favor of is the method being proposed to bring a modicum of sanity to the debate.
There’s no doubt that marijuana should be legalized, and the reasons for such a logical move are increasing everyday. Currently, yet another form of dangerous designer compounds, sold under the banner of “synthetic pot,” is sweeping the country. The attraction of these cannabinoids (a class of diverse chemical compounds that activate cannabinoid receptors on cells that repress neurotransmitter release in the brain) is that they can’t be detected by urinalysis or hair samples, so young people, attempting to avoid getting busted at a school function — where drug tests are increasingly being put in place — are flocking to these exceptionally harmful over-the-counter products.
When a test is devised to detect these products, the evil chemists who come up with the compounds simply change a few molecules around and the drug is no longer detectable. But if marijuana were legal, our young people would not be experimenting with mind-altering compounds made in some filthy lab somewhere in China, India or wherever these substances come from.
But the current bill, Issue 3, is a cure that’s perhaps worse than the disease. If passed, it would allow a group of 10 wealthy investors to own the 10 sites in the state where it would be legal to grow pot. In other words, they would have a legalized cartel — a total monopoly on a multi-billion dollar industry.
When organizations began coming out against Issue 3 as it was designed, the backers went back to the drawing board and added a pot sweetener: Citizens could grow up to four marijuana plants of their own for personal use. They even began floating around the lie that passage of the noxious bill would keep young blacks from going to prison. But the truth is, no one in Ohio goes to prison for simple marijuana possession since small amounts of pot has long been decriminalized. Only dealers face incarceration in Ohio.
The backers would have been better off making the argument that legalization would bring about a lessening of the gun violence we’re witnessing in the black community since most of the killings are over weed deals gone bad. But even that’s not enough to make Issue 3 palatable, especially when there’s a better way.
In 2016, two groups are going to mount campaigns to put issues on the ballot to legalize pot in a more sensible manner, but even those are flawed. When and if marijuana is legalized in Ohio, cooperatives should be set up in each community around the state so the profits from pot stay in the communities where it is being grown and used. But we’re a long way from that kind of economically democratic thinking at this point.
But Issue 2 (if it passes), which was put on the ballot by the state legislature, will probably render Issue 3 moot, even if it too passes. The language of Issue 2 basically outlaws monopolies in Ohio — which is interesting since this same body of lawmakers gave the casino industry a monopoly not too many years ago.
However, since Issue 2 was placed on the ballot by lawmakers and not by citizen petitions, it would go into effect the day after the election, while Issue 3 would not take effect for 30 days if it passes. So the whole pissing match would end up in front of the Ohio Supreme Court, and there’s little doubt in regards to which side the judges would come down on. The word in Columbus is that the backers of Issue 3 didn’t grease the greedy palms of Republican lawmakers, so when they lose, in spite of the millions they are spending, they are getting their just deserts.
Perhaps one day Ohio will have a sane marijuana law on the books, but given the level of intelligence of voters, that day may still be a long way off.
Issue 3 should go down in flames, or up in smoke (take your pick) … and so too should Issue 2.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.
One Response to “MANSFIELD: Vote No on Issues 2 & 3”
Steve
I agree Issue 3 is flawed. But things aren’t as bleak as you imply. First, if a Democrat keeps the White House, maybe we get a sensible national perspective. That would trump this Amendment and open growing. Also, after a start-up period (to allow the backers to recoup this upfront investment?), the Legislature can authorize additional grows.
My only concern is that if this does go to court, it will likely move up the system … possibly even to the Supreme Court. And if these people decide against Ohio, it could take down pot everywhere.