In less than a year, both Colorado and Washington legalized the use of marijuana — and some suspect Ohio will soon join the list.
Following last year’s decision, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month that it will not enforce the federal policy criminalizing marijuana in states where the drug is legal.
Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly said President Barack Obama’s administration made the right decision in allowing states to work out the issue of marijuana legalization at their own pace.
“I am glad that the federal government is getting out of regulating marijuana and is allowing the states to operate as we should be,” Kelly said.
In an Aug. 29 statement, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said that while the federal government might continue to intervene in states where marijuana is legal on certain high-priority drug policy issues, state policy should be able to regulate the sale, growth and distribution of marijuana on its own.
“The federal government has traditionally relied on states and local law enforcement agencies to address marijuana activity through enforcement of their own narcotics law(s),” Cole’s statement said.
If marijuana becomes legalized in Ohio, Kelly said it would become the responsibility of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office, and other local law enforcement agencies, to enforce the trade of marijuana, as written into Ohio law.
“The law will dictate how much a person is allowed to grow and the law will put the parameters around it, and … we’re going to enforce the parameters,” he said.
Although Kelly said he would uphold any drug policy voted into Ohio law per his responsibilities as sheriff, he fears that legalizing marijuana could lead to further problems with the drug. Federal and state policy regarding the distribution of marijuana will remain a concern even in a future where marijuana is legal, Kelly said.
“Is everybody going to legally buy marijuana? No. They’re going to get it somewhere, so we will still have cartels bringing drugs into the United States,” Kelly said.
Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, said that several committees have stepped forward with initiatives to place marijuana decriminalization on the Ohio ballot. Some of these initiatives have been reviewed and are awaiting the proper number of signatures to reach the ballot.
“Some initiatives have been rejected; some have been reviewed and those are in charge of the committees, if they decide to gather the signatures to put those issues on the ballot,” Tierney said.
Reasons for marijuana advocacy range from recreational use to the medical potential of the drug. Amanda Carter, an Ohio University junior and Students for Liberty member, said that recent drug studies and the Internet have played larges role in making drugs more palatable to the American public.
“There have been a lot of studies done showing that hallucinogenic drugs can help people with mental illnesses,” Carter said. “With the Internet, people are able to hear stories about little kids with epilepsy who can have THC and be healed.”
If the marijuana issue makes it onto the Ohio ballot, Carter said she believes the drug is likely to be legalized.
“As soon as we can get that on the ballot, I think there’s a really good chance of (marijuana being legalized),” Carter said.
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