ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners are against the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.
Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution Thursday solidifying their opposition to State Issue 2, otherwise known as the “Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol” initiative.
Commissioners voted on the resolution following a presentation from Bob DeSanto, a former Ashland County prosecutor who now runs a private law firm in Ashland.
He said the legalization of marijuana normalizes the use of the drug and poses dangers for families and children. DeSanto said the initiated statute creates “a marijuana industry in Ohio.”
State Issue 2 will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot. It is an initiated statute, not a constitutional amendment. The distinction means the Legislature has the ability to make adjustments if it passes.
Mike Welch, the president of the commissioners board, said resolutions opposing or supporting state issues is rare.
“But this seems like it would affect county government with the judicial system, mental health and law enforcement,” he said.
Other groups across Ohio have also expressed opposition, including the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the Buckeye Sheriffs Association, the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and Ohio Veterans First.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has also expressed opposition, calling the potential passage of the initiative “a mistake.”
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the law’s sponsor, has said it would “fix a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefitting everyone.”
The highlights
To read the full text of the law, click here.
The initiative would allow Ohioans age 21 and older to buy and possess 2.5 ounces of cannabis and 15 grams of concentrates. People could also grow up to six plants individually and up to 12 in a household with more than two adults.
Acceptable forms of adult-use cannabis, according to the law’s text, include “plants, clones, extracts, drops, oils, tinctures, edibles, patches, smoking or combustible product, vaporization products, beverages, pills, capsules, suppositories, oral pouches, oral strips, oral and topical sprays, salves, lotions … and inhalers.”
Revenue under the program would be administered by the newly formed Division of Cannabis Control, an arm of the Ohio Department of Commerce. The revenue would be split in four ways:
- 36% goes to the cannabis social equity and jobs fund
- 36% goes to host communities, or communities who host cannabis dispensaries
- 25% goes to substance abuse and addiction programs that fight “substance and opiate abuse and related research.”
- 3% goes to the Division of Cannabis Control and tax commissioner fund to “support the operations of the division of cannabis control and to defray the cost of the department of taxation for administering the tax.”
Cannabis cultivators, processors and dispensaries must be situated at least 500 feet from any church, public library, public playground, public park, or school.