On Sept. 23, the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Executive Committee endorsed multiple issues for the upcoming Nov. 7 general election, including Issue 2, which aims to legalize cannabis in Ohio and apply regulations that would treat marijuana the same as alcohol.
The initiative will “legalize and regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana and marijuana products to adults ages 21 and up…” as well as “home grow for adults ages 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence.”
The law however will allow landlords and employers to still prohibit the use of cannabis for their residents and employees.
This initiative is supported by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol who have contributed 4.62 million dollars to the initiative in fundraising.
The spokesperson of CRMLA, Tom Haren, spoke at the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting asking them to endorse the Issue 2 ballot initiative and canvas on their behalf to increase public support for the vote on Nov. 7.
“We already have a very successful medical marijuana program that has changed the lives of thousands of Ohioans, but too many people still don’t have access to medical marijuana… for instance, veterans suffering from PTSD,” Haren said.
Haren said that there would be many benefits for the economy if marijuana was legalized, which he said would bring over 400 million dollars of revenue to the state of Ohio, each year.
Haren said that he wants to put that money back into the community through a social equity and jobs fund and renewal of the local host community fund. In addition to funding the community, they also propose an increase in funding for addiction and drug abuse treatment programs.
Although some members present at the committee meeting were against the official endorsement of the issue the committee ultimately voted to endorse the measure and support the initiative both in name as well as in devotion to resources towards canvassing for public support on the issue.
As for public support, Forbes recently reported that 59% of registered Ohio voters supported the ballot measure and less than a third, 32%, responded saying they did not support the initiative, with only 9% declaring themselves undecided on the issue.
In addition to this proposal, there were two other initiatives supported by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Patry Executive Board including a tax that would increase funding for Cuyahoga Community College and an amendment to Ohio’s constitution, Issue 1, which would enshrine the right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions”.
This would include rights to abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care and continuing pregnancy decisions. This bill would still allow restrictions on fetal vitality by the state to a degree but only when it does not harm the pregnant patient’s life.
These proposal’s failed precursor, Issue 1 in the Aug. 8 special election, would have made the passage of these ballot initiatives much more difficult, as it would have required ballot initiatives to receive a 60% supermajority to amend the Ohio constitution as opposed to the 50% of the votes.
