Updated: 12:28 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 | Posted: 11:19 a.m. Monday, Feb. 9, 2015

Moraine, Middletown sites named possible marijuana growing locations

10 sites around the state would be allowed to grow pot if issue passes in November.

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/laura-a-bischoff/" rel="nofollow - Columbus bureau

    Montgomery and Butler counties would each host one of 10 indoor marijuana growing facilities if Ohio voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment in November.

    The site for Montgomery County would be at 2477 Soldiers Home West Carrollton Road in Moraine. The Butler County site would be a parcel at Todd Hunter and Yankee roads in Middletown.

    ResponsibleOhio, the campaign pushing to legalize pot, released a 24-page summary of the ballot language. The group must collect 1,000 signatures from registered voters and then submit the summary and signatures to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who rules on whether the summary accurately reflects the amendment.

    Investors backing the campaign have control over 344 acres, including a 50.8 acre site in   Montgomery and a 40.4 acre site in Butler counties. The largest growing site would be in Lorain County where a 76.8 acre location is identified while the smallest would be in Clermont County on 13 acres.

    If DeWine approves the ballot language summary, then the Ohio Ballot Board must decide whether it covers one or multiple issues. If ResponsibleOhio gains those two approvals, the campaign must collect 306,000 valid Ohio voter signatures by July 1 to make the November ballot.

    If voters say yes, Ohio would be the first state in the country to go from a pot ban to legalizing it for both medical and recreational purposes. Other states have started with medical marijuana.

Posted: 6:57 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, 2015

Group proposes one of 10 pot grow sites in Middletown

Indoor facility could be located on 40 acres near Yankee and Todhunter roads

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/laura-a-bischoff/" rel="nofollow - - Michael D. Pitman

Columbus bureau

MIDDLETOWN — 

    Forty acres of land in Middletown would be home to one of 10 indoor marijuana growing facilities if Ohio voters approve a constitutional amendment in November to legalize pot for recreational and medical uses, documents released Monday show.

    ResponsibleOhio released a 24-page summary of the ballot language that identifies where each of 10 grow sites will be. Investors bought or arranged purchase options on the 10 sites.   Those locations include two adjoining, 20-acre parcels owned by Trenton-based Magnode Corporation near Yankee and Todhunter roads in Middletown.

    News that Middletown might house one of the indoor growing facilities wasn’t well received by some businesses or elected officials in the city and Butler County.

    “I think it’s a terrible idea,” said Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon. “I would not support any part of it, and I think sometimes I question the sanity of people who can present that, convince people that that’s good for people in our community. It’s not, in any way, shape or form.    It’s the beginning of a lot of bad things that could happen.”

    State Rep. Tim Derickson, R-Hanover Twp., said he’s a big proponent of economic development throughout the county “but this is not exactly what I had in mind.”

    Monday’s announcement by ResponsibleOhio comes on the heels of  http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/city-may-ban-medical-marijuana-sales-ahead-of-nove/njyCt/" rel="nofollow -  A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday’s City Council meeting to address zoning ordinance changes affecting medical marijuana sales.

    Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said he doesn’t support attempts to legalize medical marijuana sales and will actively “campaign against it.”

    “I’m going to be very boisterous,” Jones said. “I have the bully pulpit and I’m going to use it.”

    “Other states that have had it … (and are) trying to re-think it,” he said of marijuana legalization. “Why not have medical heroin and medical cocaine? Where does it stop?”

    Jones called marijuana a gateway drug that can lead to a more serious addiction.

    “We have enough issues, and it’s a slippery slope,” he said. “It’s a little bag of weed and they start smoking that … and where it ends up is my jail being full of people that do this drug.”

    Martin Bidwill, president/CEO of Magnode Corporation, said the two parcels in Middletown have been for sale for at least five years. He said Monday was the first time he had heard the land could be used as a possible grow site for medical marijuana.

    Bidwill said about a month ago, he was approached by a potential, unidentified buyer via a Columbus realty company. That buyer put a down payment on the property as part of an option agreement where the property was taken off the market for at least six months.

    “But we were never told who the buyer is, and we still don’t know to this day,” Bidwill said. He added that as long as the buyer buys the land legally, and should marijuana become legalized in Ohio, he doesn’t think he has a right to judge.

     “We’ll just let it play out,” Bidwill said. “I have no right to say anything in regards to a legal status of a company.”

    When asked if he would want a legal grow site near his facilities, Bidwill said he wasn’t sure.

    “I would have to get more information, such as whether there are increased crime rates in those areas or not,” he said.

    Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan said that while a number of people have expressed concern about the legalization of marijuana, “I think we’ve got more work to do on this.”

    Mulligan hasn’t spoken with the city administration “on what approach we should take” on the topic.

    “I would probably share (the) concerns (of other elected officials), but I’ve also learned that it’s difficult with state law sometimes what our local control may or may not be in these situations,” Mulligan said.

    Several companies directly abut the property along Made Industrial Drive, including Granger Plastics Company. President Jim Cravens said one of his major concerns was what legalizing marijuana would do to the already decimated workforce in Middletown.

    Granger currently employs about 27 people, and Cravens said they have had trouble finding legitimate candidates over the past two or three years. He said the company has had significant trouble hiring from Middletown itself; most of his employees are from Trenton, Monroe, and other nearby communities.

    “I run a drug-free program…and I have a hard enough time hiring as it is, so what happens when marijuana becomes legal and everyone is smoking the stuff,” he said.

    Derickson said he’s spoken with many employers over the years, specifically concerning workforce development needs, and many of them have told him it’s hard to find employees that can pass a drug test.

    “This effort would certainly not help, I think, our employers find employees that can pass a drug test,” he said.

    Other counties that will host grow sites include: Clermont, Franklin, Hamilton, Lorain, Lucas, Montgomery, Stark and Summit. All told, ResponsibleOhio has locked up access to 344 acres across the state for growing sites.

    The Franklin County location is 19.117 acres on Seeds Road near Grove City south of Interstate 71 and north of Zuber Road. The property owner listed in Franklin County auditor records is Kenneth R. Campbell of Mason (in Warren County). Campbell, who also splits his time in Hilton Head, S.C., could not be reached for comment.

    Chris Stock of ResponsibleOhio, the campaign to legalize pot, said each grow site will start with a 100,000-square-foot state-of-the-art buildings that would eventually triple in size.

    But before the first cannabis seed is planted, ResponsibleOhio must get its ballot summary language approved by Attorney General Mike DeWine and then get the nod from the Ohio Ballot    Board that the proposal covers just one issue. Once it clears those hurdles, ResponsibleOhio must collect 305,600 valid signatures from registered Ohio voters by July 1 to make it on the   November ballot. The campaign to gather signatures and win over voters is expected to cost $20 million to $25 million. Ohio Rights Group, a group looking to legalize medical marijuana statewide, has been collecting since its approval by the Ohio Ballot Board in 2013; as of February, they have around 150,000 signatures.

    If ResponsibleOhio wins at every step of the way, Ohio would become the first state in the country to go directly from a total ban on marijuana to legalizing pot for both medicinal and adult recreational purposes. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia already have some level of legal marijuana.

    “We are excited to have the ballot language out there because it gives us all an opportunity to really talk in terms of specifics,” Stock said. The proposal shows that “ResponsibleOhio is working hard to put together a public policy that regulates a multi-billion dollar industry in a responsible way,” he said.

    ResponsibleOhio is backed by deep-pocket investors that include financiers, current and former professional athletes, real estate developers and others. It is opposed by anti-drug organizations, five statewide officeholders including Kasich and DeWine, and grassroots marijuana groups that believe carving out just 10 growing sites will unfairly block others who want to cultivate cannabis for sale.

    Sen. Bill Coley, R-Liberty Twp., said it’s the prerogative of ResponsibleOhio to seek to place an issue on the ballot, but “it is not anything that the legislature is going to enact.”

    “The voters will make their determination on what is best after reviewing the text of the proposed amendment. It’s nothing that I feel legislation is needed for in the state,” Coley said. “I respect the fact that there are those who disagree (with my position) and want to take it the constitutional amendment to the voters.”

    Coley said he sees this as similar to the casino amendment, which established four specific sites to permit casinos to be built.

    “The voters will have the ultimate say in what they decide they want to do on it,” he said.

Updated: 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015 | Posted: 8:42 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015

Adkins: Pot farm ‘sends absolutely the wrong message’ about Middletown

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/ed-richter/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

    City officials and residents say building an indoor facility to grow pot in Middletown would hurt economic development and the community’s image.

    Forty acres of land along Yankee Road near Todhunter Road would be home to one of 10 indoor marijuana growing facilities if Ohio voters approve a constitutional amendment in November to legalize pot for recreational and medicinal uses. ResponsibleOhio released a 24-page summary of the ballot language Monday that identifies where each of the 10 grow sites will be.

    “I think it hurts our development of the area and sends absolutely the wrong message of what Middletown is about and what we are working to become,” said Middletown City Manager Doug Adkins.

    Vice Mayor Joe Mulligan said city officials would “take appropriate steps to protect our residents and business owners.” He then added: “This gives us another reason to vote against the proposal at the ballot box.”

    Adkins said city administration will be reviewing all of its options and discussing the matter with Middletown City Council for policy input. He said this topic “will get a lot of attention between now and election time.”

    One Butler County city has already given the issue a lot of attention by preemptively banning medical marijuana sales within its limits before the measure even goes to Ohio voters. Hamilton City Council is holding a public hearing Wednesday at its 6 p.m. meeting on the zoning changes that would ban medical marijuana sales in all parts of town.

    Councilman Tim Naab said the proposed zoning changes are part of a plan “to bring logical, common-sense rationale for Hamilton’s future, being an attractive city for today and tomorrow.” And Councilman Robert Brown added that the city is trying to keep from making the same mistake it made with Internet cafes several years ago.

    Hamilton Mayor Pat Moeller said he needed to become more educated on the issues ahead of any statewide legislation in November and wanted to remind people that “this is a zoning issue that’s set for (Wednesday), this is not a public hearing for legalization.”

    But even if Hamilton says no to marijuana sellers, if Middletown were to become home to a grow site, Brown said he could see some Hamilton residents driving out there to get their fix, so it may still affect his city.

    “You already see people driving around with the windows pulled up and smoking cigarettes with two, three car seats in the back,” Brown said. “In my opinion, I could see the same thing happening with marijuana, and my heart goes out to those children.”

    The proposed site in Middletown is currently owned by Trenton-based Magnode Corp. and has been on the market for five years, according to company officials. The company was approached by an unidentified buyer last month via a Columbus realty company. The buyer put a down payment on the property as part of an option agreement where the property was taken off the market for at least six months.

    The two combined parcels, totalling 40 acres, are valued at $606,680 according to the Butler County Auditor’s Office.

    Denise Hamet, the city’s economic development director, said she was unaware of any interest by anyone to purchase the land or an option. Some of the city’s prime industrial areas are located near the property, including the MADE Industrial Park, SunCoke and AK Steel.

    “The proposed use would pull the site off the market for six months, reducing the supply of available land in a key development area,” Hamet said.

    Many Middletown and Butler County residents were just finding out about the possibility of an indoor pot growing operation on Tuesday afternoon as news spread. Some people said they needed to learn more about the issue, but most said they did not support the constitutional amendment or the marijuana growing facility.

    “Who wants that in their face,” said Margaret Jenkins, whose home sits across the road from the proposed Middletown site. “The neighborhood is going to be upset, and this is like putting a match under them.”

    A Todhunter Road resident, who declined to be identified, called the grow facility “a bad idea considering how bad the drug problem is in Middletown.” He said he would consider selling his house if the ballot issue is approved by voters.

    “I’m definitely voting it down,” he said. “My life is much too valuable, and it’s much too dangerous to have here.”

    Irene Hunter, 81, of Liberty Twp., said she is concerned about any move to legalize marijuana in Ohio, and is especially against a grow site being approved in Middletown.

    “All of the kids in our area started on that little bag of pot, and now they’re onto the big needle,” Hunter said. “I’ve been through living hell with my family because of marijuana.   We’ve been threatened and robbed because of it; it’s right in our neighborhood and no one will do anything about it.”

    Middletown Councilman Dan Picard said a marijuana growing facility would make it that much harder for the city to attract industrial development and the reputation it would bring to the city would be “outrageous.” He also called it “ridiculous how close it is to the Monroe schools.” The proposed site is about 1.5 miles from the Monroe Local Schools campus.

    “I think its a horrible, terrible idea, and I hope this doesn’t pass or come to fruition,” Picard said. “It makes no sense to me.”

    Naab, of Hamilton City Council, said he read with interest about “privately purchased parcels, statewide, for potential growing sites.” He said he “would suggest many opponents to these acquisitions will prevail in their not-in-my-backyard battle cry.”

    He said he believed marijuana legalization in Ohio will be challenged and defeated, citing voters’ common sense of known addictions to tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, and that other states and jurisdictions who have legalized marijuana are now reassessing their laws and outcomes.

    “Lobbyists for this plan, no matter how well funded, whether incorporating medical or recreational pitch for legalization, will not be successful in pursuit of initiating their beliefs in Ohio,” he said.

Posted: 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015

Ohioans could grow marijuana at home under new plan

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/laura-a-bischoff/" rel="nofollow - Columbus bureau

COLUMBUS — 

    Home growers would be allowed to legally cultivate up to four marijuana plants for personal use under a revised ballot proposal from ResponsibleOhio, the group pushing for a constitutional amendment to make pot legal in Ohio.

    The group announced Tuesday that it would submit a re-drafted proposal to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine later this month that would include the following changes:

    Adults ages 21 and older could obtain a license to grow marijuana at home;

Households would be limited to four plants;

    Marijuana purchased at licensed retailers would be taxed at 5 percent, down from 15 percent as originally proposed;

    ResponsibleOhio, which is backed by deep-pocketed investors and an experienced political consulting team, wants to ask voters in November to change the state constitution to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes. The group has identified 10 locations for indoor growing facilities, including in Middletown and Moraine.

    Since the group is re-drafting the ballot proposal, the sites could change. The city of Moraine, which owns one of the parcels that pot investors hold an option to purchase, is opposed to having a marijuana factory and city officials have already noted that the site is within 1,000-feet of a church. The initial ballot proposal says marijuana facilties cannot be within 1,000-feet of churches, day care centers or playgrounds.

    The new home grow provisions are modeled after Oregon, ResponsibleOhio said.

“ResponsibleOhio’s plan will allow those over 21 to grow their own marijuana for personal use, but forbid their sale of marijuana to the public,” said ResponsibleOhio spokeswoman Lydia Bolander in a written statement. “We believe that like alcohol, marijuana can be used safely and should be tightly regulated. Adults over 21 years of age are legally permitted to brew their own beer, but they aren’t permitted to sell it. Our amendment will allow limited and tightly regulated home grow of marijuana, but like home brewing, individuals will not be allowed to sell to the public.”

Posted: 5:35 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, 2015

Middletown exploring all options to stop marijuana grow site

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/ed-richter/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

A day after Moraine was removed from the list of potential sites for a 100,000-square-foot indoor marijuana growing facility, Middletown city officials said they are still exploring all options to stop one from coming there, too.

City officials were taken by surprise when ResponsibleOhio announced that Middletown would be one of 10 sites across Ohio for proposed indoor marijuana growing facilities. ResponsibleOhio is the group backing a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational use in Ohio.

The proposed Middletown site, owned by Trenton-based Magnode Corp., is on two parcels, totalling more than 40 acres, off of Yankee and Todhunter roads. The land was purchased from the seller by a third party that did not indicate what the land might be used for.

Moraine officials, who were not happy once they learned about the proposed pot factory there, sought state help in getting its site removed from the grow list. City officials argued that the Moraine site would violate ResponsibleOhio’s own criteria that marijuana facilities be at least 1,000 feet away from churches, schools or playgrounds. There is a church less than 1,000 feet from the Moraine site, city officials said.

Middletown City Manager Doug Adkins said it might take some time for city officials “to fully evaluate” the situation.

“We are looking at the ballot language and other documentation that might be available to see where we might have options to explore,” Adkins said Friday.

Law Director Les Landen said he is continuing to research what the city can or cannot do. He said he wants to make sure there is some legal basis for any actions the city might take.

“We were clearly disappointed when this got dropped on us,” Landen said. “After we decide what we can do, we then need to decide what makes the best sense to us.”

Landen said Middletown is looking at possible legal options, reviewing the proposed ballot language, reviewing the land purchase contract between the buyer and seller, what could be done through the city zoning code, and what other recourse the city might have if the proposed constitutional amendment makes the ballot and is approved by voters.

Middletown Mayor Lawrence Mulligan said the city’s hands are somewhat tied because the constitutional amendment process is underway. He said the constitutional process was how the racinos were established in Ohio.

“I am curious to see how the other sites will approach this,” Mulligan said.

On Thursday, the ResponsibleOhio organization announced that it would substitute a proposed indoor marijuana growing facility on 50.8 acres in the Moraine Commerce Park for a site in Delaware County, north of Columbus.

Moraine City Manager David Hicks said Thursday that ResponsibleOhio’s decision was no surprise. He noted the group “created a negative relationship out of the gate” by not disclosing its product or intentions.

ResponsibleOhio, which is backed by deep-pocketed investors and a team of political veterans, is seeking to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would ask voters to legalize marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes. The campaign identified 10 locations for indoor growing facilities, including sites in Middletown and Moraine, but ResponsibleOhio released new ballot language Thursday that drops Moraine.

“This change reflects a desire from both ResponsibleOhio and the property option holder to bring job growth and revenue to a location where such a venture would be supported,” said campaign spokeswoman Lydia Bolander.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia allow for medical marijuana and four states also include recreational use. If ResponsibleOhio is successful, Ohio will become the first state in the country to go from a complete ban to full legalization.

ResponsibleOhio will re-circulate the new ballot language. Once it has 1,000 valid voter signatures, the summary language must win approval from state Attorney General Mike DeWine and then get the nod from the Ohio Ballot Board, which Secretary of State Jon Husted chairs.

Then the campaign needs to collect 305,600 valid signatures from registered Ohio voters by July 1 to get on the November 2015 statewide ballot.

Staff Writer Laura A. Bischoff contributed to this report.

It is not often that anyone finds himself being disagreed with by people he respects as much as I do those on this page. Please be certain that I will deliberate heavily about the facts you put forth.

My first observation is that the major thrust I meant to put forward was on the negative effects of  marijuana on children and families.  Our society is changing so much that it has children in a precarious predicament . My work with children over several decades perhaps makes me more sensitive to their plight than some others. That was pretty much ignored except for the comment by VietVet who brushed it aside by saying, “…just don’t consider grass as a major contributor to ruining lives when compared to the other drugs.”  I’ll comment on that shortly in this blog.

Spiderjohn:

Your comment, “…..wondering if our generation gap is the big difference in our thinking on this issue.” Sent my head spinning along with what little mind I have left. I concluded that you are exactly right my generational gap is the reason for much of my thinking and not only on this issue. I liked the good old days when there was a lot more practice of and insistence on morals. In those days we were told repeatedly that you can’t regulate morals. That is now changed  to -  you CAN regulate that which is immoral. So now we have  alcoholism, abortion, homosexuality, gambling ,drugs and a host of other things as our immoral base that are legislated. Yep, I liked the good old days when we were slowed down by the morality of our actions. Where does all of this end? Are our children better off with this approach? Isn’t it time to stand up for our children that we bring into this world?  That is the real essence of my soapbox message. As you know generally what the city does or doesn’t do seems to me totally inconsistent from any kind of moral logic. On this issue they have stated they are taking a position that I think is in the best interest of our citizens so I will encourage it until I see otherwise.

You further state,  “I won't endorse ANY type of drug use--from pharmaceuticals to tobacco to alcohol and beyond. None are good for you or help you in the long run. Education early on and forward is the only REAL prevention. Lord knows, 50+ years of arrests and detention haven't helped.   Jmo”  and what a good opinion that is and let us encourage everyone to embrace it.

 VietVet:

 “…just don’t consider grass as a major contributor to ruining lives when compared to the other drugs.”  I wish you would reconsider this comparison. To me it’s like saying  just don’t consider a little poison as a major contributor to ruining lives when compared to other methods such as hanging, rape, murder, stabbing or when compared to other methods of ruining lives. I recognize that what you were doing was referring to the degree and differences between drugs.

When it comes to the medicinal use of marijuana, the jobs it could provide, etc., I wonder if we can’t be more creative in finding alternative answers to those issues than this. Actually, we already have many of those alternatives. Ask the drug companies and their employees. As usual, thanks so much for your reply and thinking on the matter.

 I hope everyone gives Mike Presta’s blog a lot of consideration and vote against marijuana becoming legal in Ohio. I’m still going to encourage defeating the Middletown grow site either way.

 Trotwood: We are so overburdened with problems in Middletown we don’t need to be in this kind of business anymore than we need the city to be in real estate.

 Acclaro:  I hope everyone gives a lot of thought to what you wrote regarding the man who killed the American Sniper and the Governor of Colorado. The Governor of Colorado gives a lot of credibility as to why we should not leagalize it in the State of Ohio or elsewhere.

 Thank you all.

 Paul Nagy

Updated: 4:54 p.m. Friday, March 20, 2015 | Posted: 12:00 a.m. Sunday, March 22, 2015

Is Ohio ready for marijuana legalization?

By  http://www.journal-news.com/staff/vivienne-machi/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY — 

    Is 2015 the year to bring marijuana to the people of Ohio? Legalization advocates say residents are ready; some policy experts say maybe not just yet.

    Three issues involving medical marijuana legalization have been approved by the Ohio State Board of Elections and are working on signatures to get onto the ballot, and one more issue that would allow 10 grow sites for medical and recreational marijuana is just one step away from doing the same. Advocates argue that Ohioans are ready for marijuana, though some Butler County cities have made it clear that marijuana isn’t welcome in their borders.

    Rob Ryan, president of the nonprofit NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Ohio, said that   “Ohio and the nation are ready for marijuana legalization.”

    “Maybe 10 years ago, if you asked, do you think we should legalize marijuana, you would hear the answer no, but when you asked, do you think we should tax and regulate marijuana, they said yes, and that’s the same question,” he said.   “Now, you’re asking if we should legalize marijuana; it’s the same question, and the answers are overwhelmingly yes.”

    David Niven, political science professor at the University of Cincinnati and past speechwriter for former Ohio Governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Ted Strickland, said that while marijuana legalization is clearly more popular now than it was several years ago, he doesn’t see 2015 as the year it happens.

    “It’s more of a policy question today than a flat-out policy assumption a few years ago,” he said. “There’s at least the conversation started and even if they get on the ballot and lose, it still advances the conversation.”

    Marijuana is now legal in five states across the country and Washington, D.C., and medical marijuana use is legal in 23 states. But despite movement in places like Colorado and Alaska, Niven doesn’t think Ohioans can expect the same outcome here yet.

    “I don’t think that Ohio has the libertarian government strain that you see in states where the marijuana legalization movement had its first successes,” he said. “The politics of Ohio on the left and right are more accepting of rules, so we’ve been and will be behind the country in terms of any movement of marijuana acceptance.”

    Ryan noted that Section 538 of the Omnibus Bill passed by Congress that approves spending through September 30, 2015, specifically says that none of the funding may be used to prevent states where at least a limited medical marijuana law has been enacted from implementing their own states laws to legalize use, distribution, cultivation or possession.

    “Congress is not a bastion of libertarianism, and they passed that as part of their budget for 2015,” he said.

Hamilton resident Anthony Weisenberger, an Army veteran who has used marijuana to help mitigate the symptoms of Crohn’s disease said he thinks that support for legalization is probably a lot higher than what meets the eye, as many people won’t actively voice their approval for fear of punishment.

    “They’re falling short in having people come out and support, for fear of being labeled a pothead,” he said. A NORML supporter, Weisenberger doesn’t think it’s a question of if marijuana is legalized in Ohio, but when, and that time could be now.

Boosting tax revenues?

    Proponents say tax revenues generated from the sales of legal marijuana will be significant, but opponents argue promises of a big haul from marijuana taxes will not happen and point to newly released statistics from Colorado’s first year of legalizing marijuana production and sales. Officials reported $44 million in new taxes on recreational marijuana but those new taxes were initially forecast to bring in about $70 million.

    Organizers of Responsible Ohio, one of the groups pushing for marijuana legalization, are proposing a five-percent retail tax rate while wholesalers and manufacturers contribute 15 percent, in an effort to smother black markets. Lydia Bolander, spokesperson for ResponsibleOhio, said that while she didn’t have an exact amount of tax revenue increase in the first year of legalization, did say, “this will be a significant boost to the economy, potentially millions of dollars for individual counties, depending on how big their population is.”

    She added there could be as many as 1,150 retail stores across the state selling marijuana and that their plan would create a statewide industry generating approximately “$4.2 billion in economic activity by 2020,” but Responsible Ohio is “still vetting that projection.”

    A local economist says there’s no question legalizing marijuana will raise some revenues, but what impact will that create on society? University of Cincinnati Economics Center Director of Research Michael Jones said, “if you look at the black market, the prices, of course, are still lower than what they are when you impose the taxation fee. And if you legalize marijuana, there’s less of a concern about being caught with it, so there’s more reason to continue to participate in the black market if you already are.”

Are Ohioans ready to vote for legalization?

    Middletown resident Brandon Murphy called the issue of marijuana legalization “long overdue.”

    “Socially, it’s pretty accepted, it’s one of the more common drugs that everybody uses,” he said. “I personally don’t care for it, but at the same time, I feel safer around people who smoke marijuana than around people who drink beer.”

Ryan compiled data from various national polls over the decades, and points to 1989 as the year of the turning point toward consistently more positive attitudes regarding marijuana legalization.

    “I’ve come to the conclusion of why that happened at that point in time, and that’s when the Internet came into people’s homes and that’s when you could learn that the government stance that says marijuana is a Schedule I drug has no basis in fact,” he said.

    An array of celebrities and public figures have come out in recent years saying they’ve dabbled in marijuana, and an overall tolerance for marijuana seems to grow with every state that legalizes marijuana, which may contribute to Ohio supporters looking to November with dreams of success. http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/ohio/release-detail?ReleaseID=2011" rel="nofollow -     But Niven says it will take more than that to sway the voters on the fence.

    “What might be helpful would be a central, sympathetic figure,” he said. “Forget about Hollywood or a college student, they need some prominent person with an illness who says, this is what can get me through the day. That’s the kind of person that would shape the conversation.”

    Local municipalities have made their opinion clear in recent months, with  http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/hamilton-says-no-to-medical-marijuana-sales/nkJsH/" rel="nofollow -  The city of Middletown is also looking for any option available to keep http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/local/adkins-pot-farm-sends-absolutely-the-wrong-message/nj8MM/" rel="nofollow -  after it was discovered that the group was eyeing a site just on the border of Middletown and Monroe for one of its 10 grow sites.

    More to the point, it’s unlikely that all four issues will make it onto the ballot, Niven said, pointing to the high cost of running a campaign, from the finances to the organization to gathering enough signatures.

    “I think (ResponsibleOhio) has the best chance of getting on the ballot because they have created such a financial incentive for their backers, but they are probably the weakest vehicle to get it passed,” he said. They give opponents multiple angles to critique; not just the general notion of marijuana legalization but the proposal to have “10 marijuana superbrokers” controlling all the production in the state, he continued.

    Ryan spoke at the Mar. 9 Ohio Task Force on Community-Police Relations in Cincinnati and called for the need to start “a serious, real dialogue on ending this war on drugs starting with re-legalization of marijuana.”

    “I firmly believe that people need to be responsible for their actions and their consequences…I do not support or condone drug abuse but what we’re doing today is not working and is actually counterproductive,” he said.

But where are the heavy hitters?

    With the exception of ResponsibleOhio, who has enlisted several regional figures as backers for their project — such as Oscar Robertson of Cincinnati Royals fame and Frostee Tucker, former Cincinnati Bengals player who currently plays defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals, real estate developers, a fashion designer and a sports agent — what the advocacy groups lack is the political power on their side, and trying to create your own political army is no joke, Niven said.

    “The parties aren’t going to endorse this, and without any prominent political organizations joining the fight, it’s such an enormous battle to get things on the ballot,” he said. “300,000 signatures is not child’s play, and the fastest way to signatures is money.”

    Most likely, marijuana legalization will go through the same process as Ohio’s casinos, where the issue lost again and again at the polls until finally, the timing and language matched up and it passed.

    “For the casinos, what happened was the economy was so bad that people were desperate for anything that might create jobs,” he said. “I think the marijuana folks have to face the reality that it took casinos time after time of getting rejected and getting the right moment to push through.

    And what if this just isn’t the right year?

    “2015 would be a terrible year for these folks to move forward, so if they actually go for the ballot, it would be quite a half-baked proposition to go in 2015, due to low turnout,” Niven said. “They would be better served to wait until 2016 where more voters are going to show up.”

    Ryan said that while he was initially surprised that these groups would attempt to take their issue to the ballot a year before a presidential campaign, traditionally a better turnout year, in the case of ResponsibleOhio’s proposal at least, it could work to their advantage.

    “I think the way they structured the tax revenue with 85 percent going to the municipalities, with a number of areas in Ohio that are hurting because of how the taxes are distributed for the cities versus the counties, there could be increasing support for it and it may drive turnout that maybe wouldn’t be there in the 2015 election,” he said.

    But whether the proposal that makes it onto the ballot is for purely medical marijuana, for creating a statewide industry, or they all get squashed, the conversation is moving forward.

    “This is where it does matter which proposals come through, do we really want all people to have access to marijuana, or do we want it to be medical patients, or do we want 10 people ruling Ohio,” Niven said. “It really does matter which ideas move forward; it’s going to be an entirely differently debate.”

Staff writer Laura Bischoff and the Alternative Press contributed to this report.

IN-DEPTH COVERAGE

This is the first of a three-part series looking at the possible impact of marijuana legalization in Ohio. Watch for articles in Monday and Tuesday’s editions highlighting the health arguments and business impacts as groups work to bring marijuana legalization to the ballot in November.

PENDING STATEWIDE BALLOT ISSUES

The Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment

From the Ohio Patients Network, currently gathering signatures. This amendment would:

·                       Allow doctors to recommend up to 3.5 ounces of marijuana for treatment to adults for a qualifying medical condition,

·                       Establishes a registry program for medical use

·                       Allows the state to redistribute funds generated through the registry program toward funding for law enforcement, public education, and safety resources

·                       Establishes limitations on the centers where marijuana can be cultivated, who can work at those centers, and how the marijuana can be distributed.

The Ohio Cannabis Rights Amendment

From the Ohio Rights Group, currently gathering signatures. This amendment would:

·                       Allow adults with a qualifying medical condition to possess, acquire and produce marijuana. Children would be eligible with parents’ legal consent

·                       Allows for the commercial production of medical marijuana and industrial hemp, establishes a commission who regulate the use of medical marijuana as well as the process it’s produced in.

Marijuana Legalization Amendment

From ResponsibleOhio, approved Friday by the Ohio Ballot Board to begin gathering signatures. It would establish:

·                       10 legal growing locations that are at least 1,000 feet from schools, day care centers, churches or libraries;

·                       A seven-member Marijuana Control Commission to regulate growing, sales, distribution, licensing and taxing of marijuana products;

·                       5 marijuana testing facilities to check potency and safety;

·                       Not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries for patients with debilitating medical conditions who could buy pot at wholesale prices;

·                       A 5 percent flat tax on retail pot sales with 85 percent of the tax revenue going to local governments for services.

·                       Adults 21 and older could grow up to four plants in indoor areas inaccessible to minors. Home-grown marijuana could be shared but not sold.

Advocates: We have enough signatures to put pot on the ballot

Jun 10, 2015, 6:46am EDT

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Dayton Business Journal

A group pushing for the legalization of marijuana says it has enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot in Ohio this November. 

http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/blog/morning_call/2015/06/advocates-we-have-enough-signatures-to-put-pot-on.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/blog/morning_call/2015/06/advocates-we-have-enough-signatures-to-put-pot-on.html

Updated: 6:41 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015 | Posted: 6:18 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015

Marijuana issue ballot language must change, Ohio Supreme Court says

By AP AP

Staff Writer

COLUMBUS — 

Ohio’s Supreme Court says part of the ballot wording describing a proposal to legalize marijuana in the state is misleading and has ordered a state board to rewrite it.

Supporters of the measure, known as Issue 3, had challenged the phrasing that was set to appear before voters in the Nov. 3 election as inaccurate and deliberately misleading. Attorneys for the state’s elections chief had argued the nearly 500-word ballot language was fair.

The high court sided with the supporters Wednesday. In its decision, the court orders the state’s Ballot Board to reconvene and replace sections about where retail stores can open, the amount of marijuana the initiative allows and the mechanism for adding growing facilities.

The court upheld the phrasing of the ballot issue’s title.

The proposed constitutional amendment will still appear on ballots.

HUSTED REACTS

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted released the following statement in the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling in The State ex rel. ResponsibleOhio vs. Ohio Ballot Board et al., specifically the court’s affirmation of the State Issue 3 ballot title where the court stated that “Husted’s ballot title is not ‘inaccurate, incorrect, or illegal,’ ‘confusing, misleading, or argumentative,’ or persuasive in nature.” The following may be attributed to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted:

“Today, the Ohio Supreme Court agreed with me, the dictionary, common sense and many news publications across our state that State Issue 3 would create a marijuana monopoly in Ohio and that the voters deserve to be given that information before casting their ballots.

“I have an obligation to present the people of Ohio with accurate information to help them make an honest and educated decision on Election Day.

“I will convene the Ohio Ballot Board this week where we should easily be able to make the technical changes the court requested to the language it approved so county boards of elections across our state can make final preparations for this fall’s election.”

MARIJUANA: OHIO DECIDES TOWN HALL FORUM

Where: Sinclair Community College, Building 12, Smith Auditorium, 444 W. Third Street, Dayton.

Parking: Parking lot on 4th Street under Building 12. Street parking also available.

Time: 7-8:30 p.m.

Questions: Send us your questions in advance by going to our  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ohio-Politics/526163074188703" rel="nofollow -  or email them to us at  mailto:anthony.shoemaker@coxinc.com" rel="nofollow - Listen live: If you can’t make it to the event, you can listen live on AM1290 and News 95.7 WHIO. The event will also stream live online at WHIO.com

Live call-in show: Join us after the forum on WHIO Radio for a call-in show starting at 8:30. Call in at (937) 457-1290

Learn more: Get answers to frequently asked questions, read past stories on the marijuana ballot issue and more at  http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/news/local/ohiomarijuana/" rel="nofollow - SPECIAL EDITION OF WHIO REPORTS

WHIO Reports host Jim Otte and Columbus Bureau reporter Laura Bischoff will talk to experts on the marijuana issue during a special edition of WHIO Reports airing on Channel 7 on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 11:30 a.m.

COMING SUNDAY

Our Statehouse reporter Laura Bischoff was in Seattle this week to see how Washington state deals with legalized marijuana for recreational and medical use. Look for her special report in Sunday’s Dayton Daily News and watch videos from Washington at MyDaytonDailyNews.com

Updated: 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015 | Posted: 10:19 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015

ELECTION 2015

Poll: Ohio headed toward ‘constitutional crisis’ over marijuana issues

New poll from Kent State shows voters back marijuana legalization, but also support effort to keep monopolies out of constitution.

By Anthony Shoemaker

Staff Writer

Ohio may be headed for a “constitutional crisis” over the marijuana issue, if a new poll on state issues 2 and 3 is the result on Election Day.

Ohio voters support Issue 3, the constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana use in the state, according to a new poll. But they also support Issue 2 which would prohibit puting “monopolies” in the constitution which supporters say would keep Issue 3 from going into effect if both pass.

“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,” said Ryan Claassen, associate professor in Kent State University’s Department of Political Science.

A Kent State University study, commissioned by WKYC-TV in Cleveland found that 58 percent of registered voters would support allowing adults in Ohio to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

Kent State’s Survey Research Lab and experts from the Department of Sociology and Department of Political Science in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences recently fielded a survey of 500 registered voters in Ohio regarding both issues.

The poll also found:

* 84 percent of Ohioans indicated they would “support allowing adults in Ohio to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it”

* 54 percent plan to vote “yes” on Issue 2 while 26 percent were undecided

* 56 percent plan to vote “yes” on Issue 3 while 10 percent were undecided

“This is the first Ohio poll to specifically address how Ohioians will vote on issues 2 and 3,” said Gregory Gibson, Ph.D., Director of the Survey Research Lab which collected the polling data within 48 hours.

“It was surprising to see that a majority of Ohio voters know that issue 3 is related to legalizing marijuana suggesting that Responsible Ohio’s information campaign appears to be working,”said Anthony Vander Horst, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Sociology.

The Other Cannabis War: The Battle Over Hemp

Read more:  http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-other-cannabis-war-20140603#ixzz3qYKWeH1T" rel="nofollow - http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-other-cannabis-war-20140603#ixzz3qYKWeH1T