The Observation Deck

Councilman-At-Large Tom Bullock welcomes Denny Wojtanowski, Senior Adviser for
Responsible Ohio, and Eric Kearney to Lakewood, Ohio. Responsible Ohio is one of
the groups behind the legalization of marijuana.

They stopped by Lakewood to reach out to some about their plans for the upcoming
election. While I am not a fan of corporate pot farms, they do bring a ton of experience
and some pretty crisp thinking on the subject to Lakewood.

Stay tuned for public discussions with Lakewood politicians, police, school board
officials, and residents, sponsored by the Lakewood Observer.

It's an election year, which is great, because if they are not here speaking, they don't
care about the residents of Lakewood.

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Legalization is a good idea, but the current proposal is flawed.
It sets up a "casino-style" corporate oligarchy in our state.

It would be best to defeat this issue in 2015, then return with a full legalization plan in 2016.

Oh by the way, having it on the 2016 ballot would be a big boost for Hillary....Bullock should be smart enough to know that.

Michael Deneen wrote:Legalization is a good idea, but the current proposal is flawed.
It sets up a "casino-style" corporate oligarchy in our state.

It would be best to defeat this issue in 2015, then return with a full legalization plan in 2016.

Oh by the way, having it on the 2016 ballot would be a big boost for Hillary....Bullock should be smart enough to know that.

Mike

I agree with some of your thoughts. However it will be easier to pass and open the door
with some concept of control. The plan allows for personal cultivation and gifting. It
also sets up a firewall between growers and sellers. This will allow the state to regulate
and tax, as we feel our ways through this.

What they found out in Colorado and California is that no one can keep up with demand,
with tax dollars more important than pay-offs, maybe the wall comes down.

Baby steps.

Also Responsible Ohio has gathered up $20 million to battle the opposition, the grassroots
groups have not hit a million yet. I would say doubtful they can win in 2016.

My fear is that we wait like we did with casinos until we are the last state, and lose the
financial perks of being one of the first.

FWIW

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Jim O'Bryan wrote:Baby steps.

There are no baby steps.
If this happens, it's game over.
Once you grant a government-sanctioned monopoly, that coporation will fight tooth and nail to keep it (hint: See Cleveland Clinic)

Jim O'Bryan wrote:My fear is that we wait like we did with casinos until we are the last state, and lose the
financial perks of being one of the first.

Unlike gambling, there are no "perks" to being first. People will travel for gambling, but not for weed.
Colorado and Washington have not exploded like Nevada did. I don't see a fancy strip of hotels being built in Denver or Seattle.

Michael Deneen wrote:There are no baby steps.
If this happens, it's game over.
Once you grant a government-sanctioned monopoly, that coporation will fight tooth and nail to keep it (hint: See Cleveland Clinic)

I also see Akron, University Hospital Suma, Lakewood, and on and on.

Michael Deneen wrote:

Jim O'Bryan wrote:My fear is that we wait like we did with casinos until we are the last state, and lose the
financial perks of being one of the first.

Unlike gambling, there are no "perks" to being first. People will travel for gambling, but not for weed.
Colorado and Washington have not exploded like Nevada did. I don't see a fancy strip of hotels being built in Denver or Seattle.

Mike I know many people in the area hitting Colorado.

Now I'll admit no hotels, but I am not really seeing anything from gambling either.

And again, I agree with this not being the best, but I do not see the others getting it together.

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marijuana only has value when it is still only semi-legal or semi-illegal.
Otherwise it would be about as cheap as tomatoes at roadside stands.

the plan to grant a few monopolies a charter to grow and sell it is blanket corruption.

the median intelligence of this country is too low to make marijuana too legal.
for example, our median intelligence was much lower than Europe's, so we had to raise the age for purchasing alcohol to 21: this was easier than raising the driving age to 21.

the purpose of sin taxes is to allow civilization to avoid being honest about what it wants and how it wants to pay for it.