From Prevention Action Alliance
A new petition to legalize recreational marijuana has been approved for public circulation, a development that should worry Ohio drug policy leaders.
The Petition: The proposal would allow Ohioans age 21 and older to purchase, possess and grow up to 12 marijuana plants per household and existing Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries to sell marijuana to adults.
The Process: If proponents collect 132,887 signatures from Ohio registered voters, the proposal would be presented to the General Assembly. If it fails to be enacted within four months, petitioners may then collect 132,887 more signatures to put it on the ballot, which could be as early as the primary election on May 3, 2022.
The Rhetoric: Though proponents’ mantra is seductive, Ohioans should not be fooled.
“Marijuana should be treated like alcohol”: Marijuana is NOT like alcohol in the potency of its impact on the human body, its “gateway’” properties for increased addictive behavior and its almost unlimited accessibility.
“Legalization will generate millions in new tax revenues”: Ballot issue proponents regularly overestimate the benefits and underestimate the costs of their ideas. On the other hand, one economic reality does not fail: “There is no free lunch.” As those of us in the prevention, education and treatment fields know, new burdens will be laid on the backs of children, parents, spouses and employers. The predatory investors behind this campaign, however, will make millions and billions at our expense.
The Timing: The issue is expected to end up on the 2022 ballot, which is just around the corner. PAA and ADAPAO already have organized a task force to develop and implement a grassroots education campaign. (See the article below.)
How Can You Help? Share this email with others who are opposed to the legalization of marijuana and learn key facts about marijuana misuse and your role in prevention.
Gene Pierce is president of Pierce Communications and a prevention advocate.
Marijuana Task Force Begins Work on Statewide Education Campaign
Prevention Action Alliance and ADAPAO have joined together to create a task force to address both state and federal efforts to legalize all forms of marijuana. The purpose of the task force is to create advocacy and communication tools that prevention professionals and other stakeholders can use in their local communities. This campaign will be similar to the efforts to defeat the 2015 marijuana legalization ballot issue that both organizations collaborated on with prevention stakeholders across the state.
The task force has met to identify key concerns and to begin the development of a plan for systems and sector education on the issue. The next steps are the development of work groups to create needed resources.
In Ohio, HB 382, a bill to legalize marijuana for “recreational” use was introduced in early August. An effort to pass marijuana legalization through an initiated state statute was approved by the Ohio Ballot Board on Aug. 30, giving the “Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol” permission to gather signatures to force lawmakers to consider their proposal. Theoretically, this initiative could result in the issue being included on the November 2022 general election ballot.
On the federal level, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunities Act (CAOA) has been introduced in the Senate.
Those interested in working on this issue can contact PAA’s Advocacy and Public Policy Coordinator Shayna Fritz at sfritz@preventionactionalliance.org
Photo: The New York Times