One thing we can be assured of is they’ll both be back in 18 months time for the tax revenue!
This year the pothole season came early for many communities as they deal with the aftermath of the November elections. Despite drug overdoses being the leading cause of injury death in Ohio since 2007, Ohioans voted to legalize marijuana for ‘recreational purposes.’ Last year over one hundred faith leaders promoted a “Believe Local” campaign encouraging communities to follow traditional family values and not to conform to “California values.” Some communities are now exercising local control in order to avoid becoming like the Wild West.
The new Ohio law states the “legislative authority of a municipal corporation may adopt an ordinance, or a board of township trustees may adopt a resolution, by majority vote to prohibit, or limit the number of adult use cannabis operators permitted under this chapter within the municipal corporation or within the unincorporated territory of the township, respectively.”
On January 2nd, Ashland City Council passed emergency legislation to prohibit commercial ‘recreational’ marijuana. Council members agreed by a unanimous 5-0 vote to prohibit adult-use cannabis operators in the city limits ‘to protect the health, safety, welfare, comfort and peace of the citizens.’ The measure is similar to previous legislation passed by Council banning commercial cultivation, processing and dispensing of marijuana for ‘medical’ purposes.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller added that consuming marijuana on city-owned property is prohibited as well. “In other words, you cannot smoke it at a picnic pavilion, the playground or at the golf course or any of our publicly-owned properties in the City of Ashland,” he said. Violations of the new ordinance could result in a first-degree misdemeanor charge, according to the ordinance.
“When we see other states that have legalized cannabis ten years ago grappling with the documented overdoses and adverse impacts of legalized cannabis, it is baffling why Ohio would decide to jump off the cliff with these states,” says Ashland Pastor John Bouquet. “We need to take back our communities from this Issue 2 debacle. I am proud that our elected officials in Ashland are statesmen with vision who can see down the road. Surrounding townships will be following the lead of our Mayor and City Council. Our state will not be able to handle the onslaught from the black market that is coming. It will be like playing with fire.”
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Ashland & Lexington exercise local control, both ban recreational marijuana (VIDEO)
