Ohio: Marijuana Legalization Could Lead To A Lawsuit

This November, Ohio has the opportunity to become the first state to legalize both adult-use and medical marijuana simultaneously. Although Ohio is known to be a conservative state, a recent survey conducted by WKYC, an Ohio news channel, and Kent State University, show that roughly 58 percent of participants agree that Ohio adults, age 21 and older, should be allowed a small amount of cannabis for personal use and 83 percent believe that medical marijuana should be legal if a doctor recommends its use. The survey gathered a total of 500 responses from registered voters, which is not a large sample size, however, these numbers do give some gauge as to how Ohioan’s feel about marijuana.  Additionally, the results of the survey were nearly identical to those of a similar survey conducted by Quinnipiac University, about voters in Pennsylvania about the topic. The two surveys used the exact same wording for questions and the results indicate that the neighboring states not only share a boarder, but also similar views about cannabis legalization.

The true issue of legalization in Ohio lies underneath the issues in the wording of the ballot initiatives.  Issue 2 is considered an “anti-monopoly amendment” while Issue 3 creates a “marijuana monopoly” (It would actually create an oligopoly by allowing only ten cultivators in the state for marijuana – but that’s basically tomatoes and tomaytoes.)

When asking the same sample of voters if they are in support of Issue 2 and/or Issue 3 the response showed that a total of 54 percent would vote in support of Issue 2, with 20 percent opposed, and 26 percent undecided.  While a total of 56 percent are in support of Issue 3, with 34 percent opposed, and 10 percent still undecided.

Confused, yet? Most of us are. Ryan Claassen, associate professor at Kent State University’s Department of Political Science, is quoted in the article by WKYC. He states, “About 57 percent of voters that plan to vote yes on Issue 2 also plan to vote yes on Issue 3…If the election were held today and nearly all registered voters participated both Issue 2 and Issue 3 would likely pass leading to a constitutional crisis.” But don’t worry, as the article points out, it is extremely unlikely that nearly all registered voters would actually turn out to vote on November 3.

So what is going to happen in Ohio? Unfortunately, even the experts cannot lend us much foresight into the issue with “The Issues”. If both Issue 2 and Issue 3 pass, these issues will likely become an issue for the Ohio Supreme Court!

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