State Rep. Robert Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, yesterday introduced two bills in the Statehouse that would legalize marijuana use in Ohio.
One of Hagan’s proposals would give the green light to medical marijuana use for conditions like sickle-cell anemia, cancer and chronic pain of any ilk. A second proposal aims to legalize recreational marijuana use for people 21 and older, a la Colorado and Washington. The latter comes complete with restrictions on where the plant could be sold (state-licensed joints, if you’ll pardon the pun) and a 15-percent tax that Hagan says could be funneled toward the education budget.
“You know what the social costs really are? Billions and billions of dollars we’ve spent on the war on drugs that has failed,” Hagan told 10TV in Columbus, explaining his opinion on the status quo.
It’s not the first time Hagan has tried to promote this work. Three years ago, he introduced a similar medical marijuana bill. That attempt was summarily shot down.
Given the legislative precedent thus far, things don’t seem overwhelmingly optimistic within state government. Over the years, though, the people of Ohio have begun taking up the fight on their own terms.
Outside of the Statehouse and on the streets of cities across Ohio, at least one group is actively courting the petition process. Ohio Rights Group has collected more than 1,000 signatures in an attempt to toss a ballot issue before voters. If those signatures are approved by the attorney general, the organization will then gather support from around the state in the form of 385,000 signatures.
The 2013 Cleveland Marijuana March, organized by NORML, will take place May 4 at Fort Huntington Park downtown. Ohio Rights Group will be on hand to collect even more signatures for their effort.
According to a recent Saperstein Associates poll for The Columbus Dispatch, Ohioans support legalizing medical marijuana 63 percent to 37 percent. Opposition is still pretty hefty for full-on legalization, though.
This article appears in May 1-7, 2013.
This “article” was obviously written by someone whom wants marijuana to remain illegal. It is completely biased. Don’t let Clevescene magazine and it’s staff fool you. Truth of the matter is that these legalization measures have a tremendous amount of support from our politicians and the VAST MAJORITY of Ohioans support legalizing marijuana. If it was up to Clevescene magazine , they would have you give up. Don’t listen to their lies. Don’t give up. Stand up for Marijuana Legalization!
The MAJORITY of Americans Support the Full Legalization of Marijuana Nationwide.
Marijuana Legalization Nationwide is an inevitable reality that’s approaching MUCH SOONER than prohibitionists think and there is NOTHING they can do to stop it!
Legalize Nationwide! Support Each and Every Marijuana Legalization Effort!
The windfall from Medicinal in Colorado Springs, my former home, is greatly appreciated under the breath of even the most conservative of politicians. The Colorado Springs Independent (similar to Scene, but more like FreeTimes) was the only advertising space to allow mmj advertising and it, almost single-handedly, kept the paper operating during the recession.
Recreational was largely passed because of the fact that agricultural hemp production was tied-in with the measure. You are allowed to grow 2 mature plants at a time and carry up to an ounce on your person. El Paso County CO major financial inputs are evangelical Christian, military, and tourism. Even with those demographics, the county voted for it by 10 VOTES, which is a landslide victory for the power of a citizens vote.
Add hemp production, form an innovative industry around cannabinoids, and you will have economic success through a creative class unlike our Midwestern or Eastern rival cities.
Regardless of the opinion of the article writer, we all know that Ohioans are good and ready to legalize marijuana and end this waste of money and resources known as prohibition. Instead of wasting money, let the state earn some. It’s a no brainer.
We shall legalize Ohio. It can’t and won’t be stopped.
I’m not sure where the accusations of anti-legalization bias are coming from… This is a pretty straightforward, albeit brief, update on some of the developments surrounding the push to legalize it in Ohio.
For the record, I’m all for legalization. And between Hagan’s bills and the petition for a state amendment, there’s plenty to report and discuss.
Eric,
I’m sorry. This is where I got that assumption from:
“Given the legislative precedent thus far, things don’t seem overwhelmingly optimistic within state government.”
That line is probably an editorializing reach – and I should probably have expanded on the history behind similar bills in Columbus and their fates (perhaps as an upcoming ‘history of marijuana legislation in Ohio’ post, or something…).
I’ll stand by that one, though, and add that I used that paragraph to pivot to organizations and people on the ground working to enact change. Hagan is certainly in a position to keep the conversation robust, but the dichotomy between his work and groups like NORML in Ohio shows where the more significant – and likely more meaningful – support lies.
But also, thanks for the comment. There are some great thoughts up there and I think there are a lot of interesting elements to talk about going forward.
Lets get the word out and badger our state reps until they get this done. While they are at it why don’t they release all the non-violet offenders locked up as well.
Eric,
Thanks for your understanding of my error in judgment. It’s been a long day and there sure are many biased articles being pumped out through the internet in the last week or so. It’s been a long, sleepless battle trying to expose them and educate people in my spare time.
Thank you also for taking the time to explain your reasoning behind that sentence or two. You are a good writer, doing a great thing to help inform the public on this issue.
I’m just trying to do what I can for the cause. The technology and widespread use of the internet and online forums these days is a fantastic tool for getting people involved in the marijuana legalization movement.
this year in ohio & all across this country there should be a bumper crop of weed being grown….it’s hard work but we who grow will not be detered….we will grow regardless…b/c we love the sacred herb….
If they end up legalizing pot, then there need to be some very strict laws laid down in regards to where you can’t light up (around schools for example, in cars, etc), similar to restrictions placed on alcohol. If we can keep the pro-smoking/anti-smoking and pro-alcohol/anti-alcohol separated, then I don’t see why we couldn’t do that with pro-pot/anti-pot people.