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Registered voters in Ohio are evenly split on the issue of marijuana legalization. According to a new Quinnipiac poll, 47 percent of voters think the use of marijuana should be made legal in Ohio, while 47 percent think it should remain illegal, and the remaining 6 percent undecided.
This means Ohio is only slightly less supportive of legalization than the country is as a whole. Qunnipiac’s national poll from earlier this month found 51 percent American voters think marijuana should be legal.
The good news, looking at the crosstabs of the Ohio poll, is that it is likely only matter of time before there is a clear majority for legalization in the state. There is currently a huge generational divide on legalization among Ohio voters. Those under the age of 30 overwhelming support ending marijuana prohibition, with 65 percent backing legalization and 29 percent opposed. By comparison voters over the age of 65 overwhelmingly want cannabis to remain prohibited. Only a quarter of seniors think marijuana should be made legal, while 68 percent think it should remain illegal. The simple fact is that those who oppose legalization in Ohio are dying off and they are being replaced by a young generation who strongly backs marijuana reform.
Given how quickly opinions about marijuana have changed nationally over the past two decades, it is likely that in only a few years a solid majority of voters in Ohio will back legalization. It is conceivable that as early as the 2016 election there could be an Ohio electorate willing to approve a marijuana legalization ballot initiative.
Photo by North Cascades National Park under Creative Commons License
2 Comments
Currently, possession of 100 grams or less is a “minor misdemeanor” punishable by a maximum fine of $150 (no jail time) in Ohio. A minor misdemeanor doesn’t go on the offender’s record. Ohio is one of a handful of states that reduced the penalties for possession of small quantities during the 1970s.
It sounds pretty sensible but I think people ought to be able to grow pot for their own consumption. We are allowed to make 200 gallons of home brewed beer in the U.S., too. That’s 4-5 glasses of 7% homebrew a day. That’s a large glass of whipass for most drinkers I know, and I live most of the time, in Oregon. On the other side of the “glass”, growing 5 plants a year and yielding 40 ounces of Jim Green, or 2 1/2 lbs. seems about right. That’s a fair trade off. 3/4 of an ounce a week vs. 30-35 ounces of pure alcohol a week. Who wins this argument when there’s so much dirt in Ohio? Just thinkin’.