COLUMBUS – The Ohio House Wednesday passed a fast-moving proposal that some say could block an effort to legalize marijuana, which also appears to be in its own fast lane toward the November ballot.
READ MORE: In the Columbus Dispatch
The House voted 81-12 Wednesday in favor of the resolution, which aims to make it harder to amend the constitution with ballot issues that provide commercial economic benefits to few individuals or create such monopolies.
“Monopolies have no place in the Ohio Constitution. The amendment process should never be used as market opportunity for special interests,” said Rep. Mike Curtin (D-Marble Cliff), who co-sponsored the measure.
One group seeking marijuana legalization, ResponsibleOhio, wants to create 10 designated grow sites around Ohio. The group says it has more than enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The anti-monopoly resolution would need approval from the Legislature and then voters. It must clear the Legislature with a three-fifths majority before Aug. 5 to appear on fall ballots.
If both issues are approved by voters, the legislation would take precedence, according to a ruling by Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Other states, including North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas, have enacted anti-monopoly provisions including and others, Curtin said.
Some opponents argue the proposal is too broad and could have unintended consequences.
ResponsibleOhio, whose proposal shows the best chance of making the ballot this year, is a diverse, business-oriented team that includes veteran Republican strategist Neil Clark and 270 Strategies, which helped run President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
The group’s $20 million game plan, from inception to election, is outlined in a 50-page campaign prospectus sent last year to potential investors.
The bottom line is the bottom line: big financial profits. The lure to investors, now in place, is a front-row seat for a lucrative, legalized marijuana market in Ohio — and maybe elsewhere.
“Winning in the battleground state of Ohio will have an incredibly positive impact on the Midwest and nation,” according to the document. “Being on the front line of a projected $1 billion + annual sale potential is one thing. But being able to replicate this victory everywhere else places the Principal Founders (investors) in a stronger position for return on investment in other ventures.”
There is no organized opposition to the issue at this point, even though Gov. John Kasich and the other four non-judicial state officeholders are against legalization.