OHIO VOTERS REJECT MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION
Voters decide against legalizing marijuana in key 2016 swing state;
opponents win despite being outspent by more than 15:1
COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio voters have rejected the legalization of marijuana in their state, sending a strong message from a key swing state to 2016 Presidential candidates and to the rest of the country that legalization is neither inevitable nor desirable.
“Issue 3 would have made a handful of rich celebrities and businesspeople even richer. Even worse, it would have put young people at risk, and Ohioans saw right through the smoke and mirrors,” said Kevin Sabet, President of SAM. “Tonight we’ve proven that legalization, even by popular initiative, can be stopped. And we intend to build on this momentum.”
Ohioans Against Marijuana Monopolies (OAMM), a local, grassroots organization supported in part by Ohio’s SAM Action affiliate, led the opposition to Issue 3. OAMM put together an impressive coalition of parents, medical professionals, law enforcement, small business owners, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Greens together to fight the initiative, which was supported by political consultants, NORML, and Ethan Nadelmann, the head of the Drug Policy Alliance.
Sabet continued, “We’ve stopped legalization initiatives before through state legislatures, but this is one of the field’s most satisfying wins in a while. Ohioans should be congratulated for putting a stop to Big Marijuana in their state.”
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About SAM
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in 30 states.