Athens, Ohio, Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative, Issue 6 (November 2017)
| Issue 6: Athens marijuana decriminalization |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 7, 2017 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Local marijuana |
| Related articles |
| Local marijuana on the ballot November 7, 2017 ballot measures in Ohio Athens County, Ohio ballot measures |
| See also |
| Athens, Ohio |
A marijuana decriminalization initiative was on the ballot for Athens voters in Athens County, Ohio, on November 7, 2017. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of reducing penalties for marijuana misdemeanor crimes in the city of Athens. |
| A no vote was a vote against reducing penalties for marijuana misdemeanor crimes in the city of Athens. |
The official title of the initiative was The Athens Cannabis Ordinance (TACO).
As of 2017, the recreational use of marijuana was illegal in the state of Ohio, while medical marijuana was legal. The Ohio Revised Code specified that people convicted of marijuana misdemeanors pay fines and face possible jail time. People convicted for possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana faced fines up to $150 and no jail time, while people convicted for possession of 100 to 200 grams of marijuana faced fees up to $250 and up to 30 days of jail time.[1]
Issue 6 was designed to reduce the penalties associated with marijuana misdemeanors in Athens to the lowest penalty allowed by the state.[2] Athens is the sixth city in Ohio to pass a marijuana decriminalization measure.
The Athens Cannabis Ordinance was first proposed in 2016, but it failed to make the ballot by two signatures.[3]
Election results
| Issue 6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 2,192 | 77.81% | ||
| No | 625 | 22.19% | ||
- Election results from The Athens Messenger
Measure design
Issue 6 was designed to reduce penalties—including fines and court costs—for the following marijuana misdemeanors in the city of Athens:[4]
- Possession of up to 200 grams of marijuana and up to 10 grams of hash
- Cultivation of up to 200 grams of marijuana
- Gifts of up to 20 grams of marijuana
- Possession and sale of paraphernalia
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Shall the City of Athens adopt the Athens Cannabis Ordinance, which lowers the penalty for misdemeanor marijuana offenses to lowest penalty allowed by the state law?[5] |
” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
The Athens Cannabis Ordinance (TACO) campaign was formed to place Issue 6 on the ballot through a citizen petition.
Writing on behalf of TACO in The Athens News, Caleb Brown said: "TACO is not legalization or even decriminalization: marijuana remains illegal. A better term is de-penalization, or removing penalties. It changes fines to $0 for misdemeanors. ... The stated purpose of TACO is not to reduce fines but rather to redirect law-enforcement resources toward more serious and violent crimes."[6] Brown also stated that Issue 6 would reduce the incentive for city police to enforce marijuana laws and that it would reduce fear for people using marijuana recreationally.[1]
Athens City Councilman Patrick McGee stated in a public forum on October 10, 2017, that he supported Issue 6.
Opposition
Athens City Councilman Peter Kotses and council candidate Sarah Grace said in a public forum on October 10, 2017, that they opposed Issue 6. Both stated that they were concerned for students at Ohio University, echoing concerns laid out by Athens Law Director Lisa Eliason when TACO was first proposed in 2016. Kotses and Grace said that Issue 6 would affect the city of Athens and the Athens Police Department, but it would not affect the Ohio University Police Department, operating under the statewide Ohio Revised Code. Kotses said that students could be confused by the regulations, and, if charged with a misdemeanor on campus, they would be penalized and could lose federal financial aid. Grace added that Ohio University police wrote more citations than city police.[7]
Background
Toledo was the first city in Ohio to pass a local marijuana decriminalization measure in 2015. In 2016, Bellaire, Logan, Newark, and Roseville passed similar measures reducing the penalties for marijuana misdemeanors.[8]
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a successful initiative petition campaign.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Athens Local marijuana Issue 6. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Post, "How marijuana depenalization would look in Athens," September 24, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Athens County Board of Elections, "Official General Election Ballot," accessed October 24, 2017
- ↑ The Athens News, "Group submits local pot decriminalization measure," July 16, 2017
- ↑ The Athens Cannabis Ordinance Facebook, "TACO: The Athens Cannabis Ordinance 2017 Info," June 6, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Athens News, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people," October 25, 2017
- ↑ The Athens News, "At forum, at-large Athens City Council race comes into focus," October 11, 2017
- ↑ The Athens News "Weed decriminalization proposal will go to Athens voters in Nov.," July 26, 2017
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