Medical marijuana plants for sale at The Farmacy, a popular California medical marijuana dispensary. Credit: Courtesy of TNS
College Democrats at Ohio State urges its members and the entire Buckeye community to vote no on Issue 3 this November. Clearly it is past time to legalize marijuana in Ohio, but Issue 3 is not the way to do it. Issue 3 enshrines in our Ohio Constitution a cartel made up of the wealthy and well-connected that could only be broken up by another constitutional amendment, a hugely expensive and difficult proposition.
More importantly, Issue 3 inexplicably leaves out so-called “Fresh Start” language that would expunge marijuana convictions and allow those currently serving sentences to seek release. In other words, Issue 3 makes it legal for a select elite to have monopoly control of the market, charging us more for marijuana than in states like Colorado or Oregon, while doing nothing for the tens of thousands of Ohioans affected by marijuana-related fines and convictions.
It’s time to legalize marijuana in Ohio. For medical relief, for much-needed tax revenue, for the safety of its users, for the enjoyment of recreational users, but most of all it’s time to legalize to end the wrongs of decades of discriminatory and draconian laws. Issue 3 does not do so, and so reveals itself as a self-serving grab at Ohio pocketbooks.
Legalize it right. Vote no on 3.
Michael Lakomy
President, College Democrats at The Ohio State University
Third-year in accounting
