Crony
Capitalism at work in Ohio
By JAMES DELP Colerain, Ohio
Here are the 10 top reasons why, after extensive study of the
proposal to legalize marijuana use in Ohio, I’ve come to the conclusion that
Issue 3 would be bad for our state: 1. With Issue 3, Ohio is proposing
to give a private group of investor’s monopolistic control of a state marijuana
industry. In return, the investors are providing the campaign financing necessary
to pass the measure in the first place. This is special-interest politics at
its worst.
2. The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that although Issue 3 will not violate the Sherman Antitrust Act, it will nevertheless create a constitutionally protected monopoly in Ohio.
3. Issue 3 was written entirely by these investors, so it is packed with loopholes and advantages for them.
4. For instance, Issue 3 gives preferential tax treatment to marijuana sales over alcohol and tobacco sales. It taxes marijuana at a meager 5 percent, whereas alcohol and tobacco are currently taxed at much higher rates. Because Issue 3 is in the form of a state constitutional amendment, this percentage will not be able to be changed without voters having to pass another amendment.
5. Marijuana is a dual intoxicant. First, it is a mild hallucinogen in how it alters one’s perception of time. Powerful hallucinogens such as LSD can cause permanent harm to the brain. Second, marijuana creates euphoria. Although marijuana and heroin are both sedatives and cocaine is a stimulant, all three drugs work the same way. They trick the brain into releasing its own dopamine – its feel-good hormone. This chemically induced euphoria is what makes them all addicting. This while making Marijuana legal. Really?
6. Issue 3 specifically allows for marijuana resin to be extracted from plants and inserted into baked goods, candies and drinks, giving someone a much more powerful high than when it is smoked.
7. Although buyers must be 21 to purchase marijuana products, no doubt some of the edible treats will be given to children who will unwittingly eat them and then develop favorable opinions about getting high.
8. Issue 3 specifically declares marijuana to be a “tincture,” which is a legal designation given only to medications. Whenever the law declares a medication to be a tincture (such as mouthwash), then it can be mixed with alcohol and sold in stores with no need for the seller to have a liquor license. Alcohol kills germs. None of the illnesses that marijuana is supposed to treat involve someone being attacked by germs.
9. Alcohol and marijuana are both sedatives, so each compounds the intoxicating effects of the other. If marijuana really were a medicine, it would be one of those drugs you weren’t supposed to mix with alcohol.
10. The FDA is studying medical benefits of marijuana at the University of Mississippi. Issue 3 bypasses the FDA and wants to legalize pot so that a drug with known hallucinatory side effects can be available without a prescription.
2. The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that although Issue 3 will not violate the Sherman Antitrust Act, it will nevertheless create a constitutionally protected monopoly in Ohio.
3. Issue 3 was written entirely by these investors, so it is packed with loopholes and advantages for them.
4. For instance, Issue 3 gives preferential tax treatment to marijuana sales over alcohol and tobacco sales. It taxes marijuana at a meager 5 percent, whereas alcohol and tobacco are currently taxed at much higher rates. Because Issue 3 is in the form of a state constitutional amendment, this percentage will not be able to be changed without voters having to pass another amendment.
5. Marijuana is a dual intoxicant. First, it is a mild hallucinogen in how it alters one’s perception of time. Powerful hallucinogens such as LSD can cause permanent harm to the brain. Second, marijuana creates euphoria. Although marijuana and heroin are both sedatives and cocaine is a stimulant, all three drugs work the same way. They trick the brain into releasing its own dopamine – its feel-good hormone. This chemically induced euphoria is what makes them all addicting. This while making Marijuana legal. Really?
6. Issue 3 specifically allows for marijuana resin to be extracted from plants and inserted into baked goods, candies and drinks, giving someone a much more powerful high than when it is smoked.
7. Although buyers must be 21 to purchase marijuana products, no doubt some of the edible treats will be given to children who will unwittingly eat them and then develop favorable opinions about getting high.
8. Issue 3 specifically declares marijuana to be a “tincture,” which is a legal designation given only to medications. Whenever the law declares a medication to be a tincture (such as mouthwash), then it can be mixed with alcohol and sold in stores with no need for the seller to have a liquor license. Alcohol kills germs. None of the illnesses that marijuana is supposed to treat involve someone being attacked by germs.
9. Alcohol and marijuana are both sedatives, so each compounds the intoxicating effects of the other. If marijuana really were a medicine, it would be one of those drugs you weren’t supposed to mix with alcohol.
10. The FDA is studying medical benefits of marijuana at the University of Mississippi. Issue 3 bypasses the FDA and wants to legalize pot so that a drug with known hallucinatory side effects can be available without a prescription.
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