Why I really want you to vote for the marijuana bill…

There is one prevailing reason most people I know don’t like Issue 3 that will be on the ballot on Tuesday, November 3: It creates a monopoly.

In fact, here is the text you will read on the ballot:

Issue 3Grants a monopoly for the commercial production and sale of marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposesProposed Constitutional AmendmentProposed by Initiative PetitionTo add Section 12 of Article XV of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.A majority yes vote is necessary for the amendment to pass.

The amendment would create 10 Marijuana Growth, Cultivation and Extraction (MGCE) facilities.

Each of these MGCE’s have an investor. And each investor was required to put in $2 million for the campaign.

You will also see Issue 2:

Issue 2Anti-monopoly amendment; protects the initiative process from being used for personal economic benefitProposed Constitutional AmendmentProposed by Joint Resolution of the General AssemblyProposing to amend Section 1e of Article II of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.A majority yes vote is necessary for the amendment to pass.

The Secretary of State has already said that if Issue 2 passes then Issue 3 will be voided.

So if you vote for Issue 2 but Issue 3 (marijuana) passes you will be voiding the validity of Issue 3. Get it? You will be saying “I can’t vote on any bill that allows monopolies.”

If there is one thing I have learned in my attempted run as mayor it is that law makers use the law to trip you up and manipulate you.

Do I like that only 10 people can grow marijuana? NO.

But is it a good place to start? YES.

There is no reason to believe we can’t get that changed down the road.

There is only one reason not to vote for Issue 3: Monopolies.

But there are endless reason to vote YES on Issue 3:

• It’s estimated that marijuana sales would generate more than $550 million in Ohio tax revenue, 85 percent of which would be given to local government for needs such as infrastructure repair, economic development and public safety.
• It makes marijuana safer by regulating it like alcohol. Street drugs are especially dangerous because you never know what is in them.
• I personally know people that suffer from a HUGE amount of pain that would like to be able to use marijuana to help them feel better.
• Cancer patients report eating more and calming their stomach by using marijuana.
• We are seeing that the War on Drugs isn’t working.
• Prohibition didn’t work with alcohol and it’s not working with marijuana.
• Property owners of the MGCE’s agreed to let the 300 people they expect to employ unionize and collectively bargain.
• 1,159 stores will be available for people to own and run in Ohio. 
• You will be able to have four flowering marijuana plants in your house.
• You will be able purchase, possess, transport, use, and share up to 1 ounce of marijuana for personal use.
• Marijuana is an easy way to target minorities on the street.
• Whites and blacks use marijuana at about the same levels but blacks are FOUR TIMES more likely to be arrested for having pot.
• We aren’t arresting drug king pins. We are arresting minorities with a small amount of pot.
• 7 million people were busted with having pot from 2001 to 2010.
• In 2010 cops busted people with marijuana every 37 seconds.

Anti-Marijuana laws hurt people in severe pain, cancer patients, blacks and Hispanics. 

We need to get off the dime on the insane marijuana laws we have in this country.

Issue 3 is our chance. 

Help the poor, weak and minorities of our state.

PLEASE

VOTE YES ON ISSUE 3

VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2

I used these sites for my research:

Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers | American Civil Liberties Union

Ohio Initiated Monopolies Amendment, Issue 2 (2015) – Ballotpedia

Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Issue 3 (2015) – Ballotpedia