Pot critics take heart from Ohio victory

Anti-marijuana advocates are drawing encouragement for battles ahead after an overwhelming two-thirds of Ohio voters rejected a bid to legalize pot on Tuesday.

The Buckeye State opted not to become the fifth state to allow adults to smoke pot recreationally, in what critics are labeling a stinging defeat for the legalization movement.

{mosads}Ohio is often seen as a bellwether for the nation, so the defeat there could indicate a long road ahead for supporters of legalized marijuana, critics say.

“This absolutely slows down the momentum for legalization,” said Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which advocates against legalization. “Voters aren’t ready for it. When a bellwether state like Ohio strikes it down [so decisively], it sends a political message as clear as day.”

“Legalization is not inevitable,” he added.

The language of the Ohio measure divided marijuana supporters, and many advocates outside of the state decided not to get involved because of the controversial way in which it was written. A contentious provision would have meant that only a tightly limited number of people would have been authorized to grow or sell the drug.

Many marijuana supporters were opposed or remained neutral because they argued this measure would have given control of the nascent industry to a handful of wealthy investors.

That fact has allowed many marijuana supporters to claim that the implications of the Ohio vote are likely to be narrow. They have their sights set on ballot initiatives in five states outside of the Midwest where they say they have a better chance of winning.

“Ohio wasn’t key to our strategy,” said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. “A victory in Ohio would have given us a greater level of momentum, but this is just a little bump in the road.”

The focus will be on passing ballot initiatives in California, Nevada, Arizona, Maine and Massachusetts during next year’s presidential election, advocates say.

They’re also hopeful that the state legislatures in Rhode Island and Vermont will legalize recreational marijuana without holding a public vote.

“Ohio is just a tough state,” Piper said. “It’s in the Midwest and it’s conservative.”

“That’s probably why we’re focusing on states outside of the midwest,” added Dan Riffle, director of federal policies at the Marijuana Policy Project.  

Until the Ohio vote, pro-legalization groups were riding momentum from successful ballot initiatives in recent years in Colorado, Washington state, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C.

Ohio would’ve become the fifth state to legalize marijuana. Polls show that slightly more than 50 percent of voters in the Buckeye State support legalization, even though the measure failed.