TOLEDO, Ohio — From a felony offense to on the road to legalization, marijuana has had a complicated history in the buckeye state.
Advocate Sean Nestor has been a part of that journey to public acceptance.
"In 2015 we enacted something here in Toledo called the sensible marijuana ordinance, I was the campaign director for that, that was a citizen initiated ordinance and it was approved by 72% of the voters, and since then it was approved by 40 cities across Ohio," Nestor said.
That ordinance effectively decriminalized marijuana and Nestor said it was the first sign that Ohioans' opinions on Cannabis have softened.
Now, Issue 2, created by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol gives the state the chance to take the next step. Nestor believes the majority are finally ready to take it.
"Culturally, we've seen that 23 states across the country have adopted marijuana legalization efforts. The sky hasn't fallen - in fact, in many cases [there are] a lot of medical benefits," Nestor said. "A lot of people have benefited medically and a lot of local governments have, too from the tax revenue," Nestor said.
The measure would legalize recreational dispensaries, allowing adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home. It would also place a 10% tax on every sale, and the ballot text estimates this would net well north of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
But not everyone sees this potential future as a rosy one. State Representative Josh Williams said he has multiple concerns about safety.
"What we've seen in other states is an increase in OVI charges for marijuana, individuals will believe since marijuana is legal, individuals will believe they can drive, which is not the case... [and] the idea that recreational marijuana that is grown inside the home where kids will have easy access to it, it's kind of an issue for me," Williams said.
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But Nestor is confident the majority will vote 'yes', claiming "all demographics, all backgrounds, rural, urban, liberal, conservative, people are ready for this."
Representative Williams says he's ready too, to take action on day one.
"If it does pass, you'll see amendments and new statutes come out of my office through a bill," he said.
According to a pulse poll from Baldwin Wallace University, 57% of Ohioans intend to vote "yes" on the issue. The only surefire way of knowing, of course, is to wait until Nov. 7 when voters take to the polls.
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