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To the Editor,
For the second time in 14 months, Republican lawmakers are moving full-speed ahead to rescind provisions in the state’s adult-use marijuana law.
These efforts are a slap in the face to the 57 percent of voters who approved Issue 2 at the ballot box. Lawmakers had years to craft legislation regulating Ohio’s adult-use marijuana market.
They chose not to do so, instead leaving the decision up to the electorate. Legislators should not play Monday morning quarterback now simply because most Ohioans voted in a way they disapprove.
Republican-proposed changes to the law are unpopular and are not in the best interest of Ohioans.
Restricting home cultivation and imposing new penalties on consumers who share small amounts of cannabis with friends or who purchase marijuana products from out of state will only result in unnecessary criminal prosecutions for activities that most Ohioans believe should be legal.
Redirecting taxes from popular social programs, such as addiction treatment, to the general fund is nothing more than a cash grab by lawmakers.
Whether or not one personally supports or opposes cannabis legalization, these undemocratic tactics ought to cause deep concern. In a healthy democracy, those with competing visions on public policy vie for voters’ support and abide by their decisions.
They don’t cast them aside simply because they’re sore losers.
Paul Armentano
Deputy Director, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
Washington, D.C.
“}]] To the Editor, For the second time in 14 months, Republican lawmakers are moving full-speed ahead to rescind provisions in the state’s adult-use marijuana law. These efforts are a slap in the face to the 57 percent of voters who approved Issue 2 at the ballot box. Lawmakers had years to craft legislation regulating Ohio’s Read More
