As voters across the United States move to elect their next state leaders Tuesday, Ohio residents are weighing whether the Buckeye State will become the latest to legalize marijuana.
If voters approve the measure, Ohio will become the fifth state to legalize recreational weed and the first in the Midwest.
But Issue 3, which would add an amendment to the Ohio Constitution to permit pot for medical and private use, is more than a permission slip for residents to light up—it could potentially alter how states pursue legalization.
In Ohio, the movement to legalize pot went beyond the often philosophic arguments entrenched in personal freedom and social justice; it morphed into a business venture backed by a handful of wealthy investors and a seasoned political operative.
Detractors fear that the shift could disintegrate into another “Big Tobacco,” Politico Magazine points out, particularly because the plan limits marijuana growers to 10 farms, effectively creating a weed oligarchy.
The Ohio General Assembly is working to thwart this measure, putting forth another ballot initiative that would prohibit a “monopoly, oligopoly or cartel” of federally controlled substances. If both measures make it past the voting booth, a legal battle is all but guaranteed to follow.
The initiative sprang from Ian James, a political consultant with 30 years of experience under his belt. His company, the Strategy Network, specializes in ballot measures.
James funneled that experience into the ResponsibleOhio campaign spearheading the initiative. Its 24 investors include big names like 98 Degrees pop star Nick Lachey, NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, and NFL player Frostee Rucker, Politico reported.
The investors have vowed to pour at least $20 million in its campaign to convince Ohio residents to support the initiative.
“We have clearly taken this from the tie-dye to the suit-and-tie approach, there is no question about that,” James told The New York Times. “Right, wrong or indifferent, this is the way legalization is moving in this country now.”
Though opponents, including marijuana advocates, argue that James’ initiative would place the state’s marijuana industry in the hands of only a few, ResponsibleOhio notes that it would impose a 15-percent tax on growers and sellers along with a 5-percent tax on sales, which would reap an estimated $554 million annually to fund local government services like police and fire departments.
Though four states plus Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational pot within the past two years, weed still remains illegal on the federal level.
Cully Stimson, manager of The Heritage Foundation’s security law program, previously told The Daily Signal that marijuana should remain a federal issue, given a number of findings concluding that the drug is dangerous and addictive.
“If this administration thinks that marijuana should be legalized or reduced in the Controlled Substances Act, they should lead and convince Congress, which they won’t, that it should be rescheduled,” Stimson said.
