The president of the Ohio Senate plans to repeal cannabis legalization if voters approve it in November

Official Election Day for Ohioans is November 7th, but early voting has already begun on October 11th. This is a significant year for cannabis as there is a measure on the ballot to legalize cannabis, marked as Issue 2. However, some lawmakers are not keen on the idea that cannabis legalization could be approved and announced plans to potentially repeal the law if it actually passes.

Senate President Matt Huffman voiced his opposition to SR-216 on the Senate floor, saying it would “come back before this body imminently” and would likely see changes. “We will have a mental health crisis on our hands,” Huffman said, if voters approve Topic 2. “We will be paying for this for years and it will only get worse.” He added that he would push to review and repeal parts of the bill if it passes.

“If Issue 2 passes, there will be more teenagers committing suicide in the state of Ohio,” Huffman said. “And our response to that won’t be, ‘Let’s make marijuana illegal,’ because by then more people will be making a lot of money. It will be, “Maybe we should hire drug counselors and go into schools and talk about kids who don’t do drugs.” But by then it will be too late. It will be even more part of our culture. And no, I’m not a scientist, but I am someone who looks at the facts, listens to scientists and knows that this is true.”

Just as early voting began last week, Republican Senator Mark Romanchuk and Representative Terry Johnson, along with 14 other co-sponsors, introduced Senate Resolution 216, asserting all the potential harms legalization would bring if voters choose to vote and agree on topic 2.

“…The proposed legislation authored by the commercial marijuana industry does not serve the interests of the people of Ohio, will create unacceptable threats and risks to the health of all Ohioans, especially children, create workplace hazards, and unacceptable challenges and costs “for employers, will make Ohio’s roads more dangerous, impose significant new, unfunded costs on Ohio’s public social services, and will only serve to further the financial interests of the commercial marijuana industry and its investors…” the bill reads .

Many of the bill’s worrisome points have long been raised by anti-cannabis advocates, such as calling cannabis a gateway drug, which leads four of our 10 people to try other drugs, and that cannabis use leads to opioid use disorder. While it claims that drug overdoses are the “leading cause of injury and death” in the state and an estimated 33,000 Ohioans died from drug overdoses between 2011 and 2020, state records for COVID-19 deaths are over 42,000.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the top 10 causes of death for Ohioans in 2017 were heart disease, cancer, accidents, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, flu/pneumonia, kidney disease and septicemia.

The resolution also contained claims that regular cannabis use “can irreversibly impair intelligence, memory and learning ability,” as well as claims that underage cannabis use poses risks to academic performance, IQ and behavior, and that cannabis in adolescence increases Risks for “ psychosis, a serious mental disorder characterized by distorted thinking and loss of touch with reality, as well as depression and suicide.”

They conclude the bill by stating that they are asking voters to reject Topic 2 to “preserve the high quality of life of our state, the health and safety of our citizens, the strength and prosperity of our communities, our strong economic growth, our welfare and to protect.” Environment for business success and opportunities for all citizens and the future of our young people…”

The campaign group submitted nearly 130,000 signatures to place Issue 2 on the ballot after initially failing to reach the required 124,046 signatures. “It looks like we fell a little short in this first phase, but now we have 10 days to find just 679 voters to sign a supplemental petition – that will be easy because a majority of Ohioans supports our proposal to regulate adult use of marijuana,” said Tom Haren, spokesperson for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CRMA).

A recent poll from CRMA, the same advocacy group behind the initiative, found that three in five Ohioans plan to support the measure in November. A similar poll conducted in September 2020 found that voters said they “strongly agree” and 34% “strongly agree” (63% overall), compared to this year’s results of “50% “agree” and “17% somewhat agree”. ” (total 67%).

Recent projections from Ohio State University show the state could generate $275 million to $403 million in recreational tax revenue by the fifth year of legalization.