Is a marijuana arms race coming to Ohio? Why weed should be sold only in state-owned stores
Steve Sterrett is a retired communications and community relations professional who has lived in Columbus since 1973.
Supporters of Issue 2 last fall argued that marijuana should be regulated like alcohol. I agreed and voted in favor of Issue 2.
Now I ask the Ohio General Assembly to regulate marijuana like alcohol.
This would include limiting the sale of marijuana to state-owned and -operated stores as Ohio did for decades following the repeal of Prohibition.
Alcohol is a controlled substance because it is a dangerous drug if not used properly.
To sell alcohol, a dealer must be licensed by the state. To serve alcohol, the facility must have a permit. The server is responsible for monitoring the customer’s alcohol consumption and must not serve a customer who shows signs of intoxication.
Ohio Senate tried to steal votes. Ohioans were crystal-clear on legalizing marijuana.
Marijuana vs. alcohol
Most authorities agree that marijuana is not as dangerous as alcohol.
Marijuana has little or no risk of addiction and doesn’t promote aggressive behavior. But marijuana does impact a person’s judgment, particularly when driving.
Research continues to determine whether marijuana has any long-term impact on the developing minds of young people. These are good reasons for regulating the sale of marijuana.
Why state should control sale of marijuana
We should not, however, turn the marketing and sale of marijuana over to profit-driven private corporations.
Have we learned nothing in the past 60 years?
Have we forgotten the lies and deceit of the tobacco corporations in hiding their responsibility for the terrible health effects of smoking?
Or the international oil companies that funded bogus propaganda campaigns to promote public doubts about human-caused climate change and to undermine bipartisan solutions?
Or the pharmaceutical corporations whose deceptive marketing of opioids and their blind-eye to the impact created the nation’s largest public health drug crisis?
Ohio and states across the nation have given online gambling to private corporations. We already know that casinos ignore the signs of gambling addiction among their customers.
They routinely target “big spenders” with promotions to keep them spending until they’ve sucked them dry. Sports betting in Ohio became legal on January 1, 2023. Two days later, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was already questioning the legality of some gambling corporations’ practices.
From the end of Prohibition to 1991, the sale of liquor in Ohio was limited to state liquor stores. I argue that method of distribution sent a clear message that alcohol is a controlled substance. The state will meet a demand for alcohol, but the state won’t promote its sale and consumption.
Marijuana should only be tolerated
I suggest the model of the state liquor store would be appropriate for the sale and potentially safe consumption of marijuana that is not contaminated by more dangerous drugs.
Recreational marijuana should be tolerated, but not promoted. We don’t need a corporate-funded “arms race” to increase the potency of marijuana nor marijuana “candies” that poison unsuspecting children.
All profits from the state marijuana stores should be directed to research into drug addiction and its treatment.
The profits also should support comprehensive age-appropriate education programs that explain the benefits and risks of psychoactive substances.
Benefits?
Yes, marijuana has medicinal benefits. In addition, opioids, methamphetamine and many other psychoactive substances were developed originally for medicinal purposes. That’s not to discount their danger from improper use.
More: Why marijuana edible can be such a danger
The real challenge before us is not the government’s failed War on Drugs, but our refusal – and that of our political leaders – to honestly confront the question of why so many of us in our advanced industrial nation turn to psychoactive substances for relief and even pleasure. But that’s a topic for another column.
Steve Sterrett is a retired communications and community relations professional who has lived in Columbus since 1973.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio's marijuana arms race must be snuffed out before it starts
