Marijuana not the only issue in next month’s election — Capital News

Issue 3 would create a monopoly in the Ohio Constitution for growing, cultivating and extracting marijuana.

In response, the Ohio legislature put forward Issue 2, which would undercut its rival initiative by explicitly prohibiting Issue 3 from taking effect and by banning all future constitutional amendments “from using the Ohio Constitution to grant a monopoly, oligopoly” or “to establish a preferential tax status”.

However, for Issue 3, the party divide is wider.

“Regardless of your position on cannabis, the premise of blocking a monopoly is indisputable in relation to our free market principles”, said Aaron Weaver, CARO’s president. “We need more competitive districts and a more balanced process”.

“There will likely be a few unknown, unintended consequences that come up over the years because there’s always unintended consequences”, he said.

“Our members, which represent small and large businesses throughout the area, have to ensure a safe work environment for all of their employees”, he said.

Kris Krane, advocate and managing partner at 4Front Advisors, an organization attempting to professionalize the marijuana industry, said it’s doubtful business growth in Butler County and Ohio would be negatively impacted by passage of Issue 3.

If turnout is higher among Republicans, it will pull the number of “yes” votes down from the 56 percent that said they would vote “yes” in the WKYC/Kent State Poll. “I can’t imagine that any other businesses would be scared away”.

Proponents of the tax laud the consistent revenue stream for an industry propped up by patronage.

Ian James, executive director of ResponsibleOhio, the private investor group that is campaigning for Issue 3, expressed excitement at the WKYC poll.

Krane has been watching all of the marijuana issues around the country and has been “pretty good” at handicapping these initiatives. The results are almost identical to those from Quinnipiac University Polls released on April 6, 2015, and October 8, 2015.

The Quinnipiac survey found that 49 percent of respondents are against it while 47 percent are for it, a seperation that is within the poll’s margin of error. Absentee and in-person early voters are already casting ballots for the November. 3 election.

“Young people and Democrats are more likely to stay home”.

But they’re more evenly split on the issue of recreational usage, with Ohio and Florida voters supporting the notion and Pennsylvania voters opposing it.

Compared to 1969, when only 12 percent of Americans supported legalizing pot, today a majority of Americans support legalizing recreational use of the drug.

Paul Heldman, an attorney from Hyde Park, is a minority investor in the Butler County grow farm site.

CARO: Citizens Against Responsible Ohio are for legalizing marijuana but are opposed to the monopoly proposed by Issue 3. Just 10 percent of those questioned on Issue 3 are undecided while 34 percent said they plan to vote “no”.

Heldman also said this is not a matter for rich investors becoming richer. “How else can you attract the funding (to get an initiative passed) other than to give them an opportunity to invest?”

“Even though [redistricting] only happens every 10 years, it has real consequences for the vote, and if the vote is manipulated, at the end of the day, elected officials are not as accountable to voters”, Turcer said. “I don’t think there’s been another instance of when one issue addresses another one on the ballot”.