Legalization efforts in Ohio fail - Don't worry, don't panic!

Issue 3 in Ohio was voted down last Tuesday at nearly a 2 : 1 ratio. The vote totals for Issue 3 were a little misleading to the overall attitude in Ohio, where support for Marijuana legalization is over 50%. Industry leaders aren't too worried either, many vocally opposed Issue 3. Why would reform leaders oppose legalization efforts, you ask? It was the way legalization was framed. Had the voters said yes, it would have written a Marijuana oligopoly into the state's constitution, with the wealthy backers as the only recipients of licenses to grow Marijuana commercially.

"This was about a flawed measure and a campaign that didn't represent what voters want," said Tom Angell of Marijuana Majority, a pro-legalization group.

"What was most offensive about [the Ohio measure] was that they wanted to make it a constitutionally mandated oligopoly in perpetuity," said Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance. "It's clearly the case that the oligopoly provision turned people off."

"They put self-interest first, they lost, and sadly, an opportunity to advance marijuana legalization was lost as well.

But this loss is all on them, not on the movement. This was a poorly conceived proposal and bad public policy. It deserved to lose, and it did" writes Jon Gettman on HighTimes.com

Don't let the comments mislead you, these people and the groups that they represent, are for legalization. The majority agrees that this country should not be arresting people for possessing small amounts of Marijuana and unfortunately, people will remain under threat of arrest in Ohio. The vote of citizens in Ohio is telling though, it shows that the "big corporate takeover" of the Cannabis industry might have to wait awhile. ResponsibleOhio thought Marijuana users were so desperate that they would support any proposal to provide legal Marijuana—even if it meant giving up all cultivation rights to ResponsibleOhio.

Writing this into the Ohio Constitution would have been a new path to legalization as well. In states that have legalized MMJ and adult-use Marijuana, they achieved this through Initiatives, which are more flexible and far less cumbersome to make future changes. Opposition came from a variety of groups, including the Ohio legislature. They wrote a competing Initiative that appeared on the ballot, one that would explicitly outlaw voter-approved monopolies and oligopolies like the one that Issue 3 would create. The competing Initiative ultimately passed, although it won't be needed with the failure of Issue 3.

This was an off-election year and some groups are asserting that plays a role too. Voter turnout is historically lower in off year elections and Marijuana Initiatives have always done best when turnout is the highest. Regardless, the 2016 election cycle is ramping up and there are a handful of states that stand a good chance of adding adult-use Marijuana laws to the books, namely, California. Many within the Cannabis industry feel that if California goes, the rest off the country will go too. If you feel passionate about reform, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved this upcoming election season. Get out and vote!

#legal