Toledo, Ohio, Issue 1, Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (September 2015)
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A Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative, Issue 1, was on the ballot for Toledo voters in Lucas County, Ohio, on September 15, 2015. It was approved. Ultimately, the provisions of this initiative that related to decriminalizing felony offences—as determined by state law—were overturned in court.[1]
Issue 1 was called the "Sensible Marijuana Ordinance" by supporters.
Issue 1 decriminalized marijuana by decreasing the penalties for marijuana-related violations, including those considered felonies by state law, to the absolute minimum while keeping the substance technically illegal in order to comply with state law.[2]
Specifically, the measure was designed to:[2]
- Remove all jail time and fines for marijuana violations
- Prevent driver license suspension due to marijuana violations
- Forbid any marijuana violation from being reported to any professional licensing board or agency
- Prevent law enforcement agencies from reporting marijuana violations to any authority above the local city attorney
- Prohibit civil or criminal asset forfeiture as a consequence of any marijuana-related infraction
Upon the approval of Issue 1, Toledo, the fourth-largest city in the state, became the first to enact a local ordinance decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana in Ohio. Sean Nestor, a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said that activists were planning decriminalization initiatives in six additional cities in Ohio.[3]
Marijuana activists were also working toward statewide legalization through an initiative petition targeting the November 2015 ballot.
Aftermath
Implementation
On November 6, 2015, 18-year-old Mariah Smith became one of the first to benefit from Issue 1. Smith was arrested on October 28, 2015, for marijuana possession. She pleaded "no contest" and was found guilty. She was sentenced, however, to zero jail time and was not fined.[4]
Lawsuit
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Preemption; the lawsuit alleged that certain provisions of the initiative—specifically related to felonies—were not within the scope of the local initiative power and that a law making activity a crime but without prescribing a penalty was invalid and unconstitutional. | |
| Court: Lucas County Court | |
| Ruling: The provisions of the initiative targeted by the lawsuit were ruled unconstitutional and unenforceable. | |
| Plaintiff(s): Attorney General Mike DeWine (R), Sheriff John Tharp, and Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates | Defendant(s): Toledo city officials—in their official capacity |
| Plaintiff argument: Provisions of the initiative regarding felony offenses according to state law were not within the scope of the city's legislative authority and, therefore, not within the scope of a city initiative. | Defendant argument: The will of the voters should be honored and defended as far as possible. |
Source: Toledo Blade
Attorney General Mike DeWine (R), Sheriff John Tharp, and Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates filed a lawsuit against the city seeking an injunction against enacting the sections of the "Sensible Marijuana Ordinance" that affected felonies according to state law. Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that removing certain penalties for crimes regarding more than 200 grams of marijuana, a felony by state standards, was outside of the city's authority. The lawsuit did not try to invalidate the decriminalization initiative concerning marijuana-related misdemeanors. The lawsuit also argued that it was illegal to prescribe crimes without allowing penalties.[4]
Lucas County Court Judge Dean Mandros ruled in favor of plaintiffs and declared the provisions of the initiative regarding felony offenses unconstitutional and unenforceable. Judge Mandros wrote, "Identified provisions [of the ordinance] conflict with state general laws by eliminating criminal penalties for possession and trafficking of marijuana and hashish, converting state law felony offenses involving Schedule III, IV, and V drugs into third-degree misdemeanors, and prohibiting law enforcement officers from reporting felony drug law violations to anyone empowered to prosecute them." Mandros also cited a state supreme court ruling that stated, "a statute is not a criminal statute unless a penalty is provided for its violation.”[1]
Election results
| Toledo, Issue 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 11,663 | 70.37% | ||
| No | 4,911 | 29.63% | ||
- Election results from Lucas County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[5]
| “ |
Shall the City of Toledo adopt the sensible marihuana ordinance which protects individual citizen’s rights and saves taxpayer’s money by lowering the penalty for marijuana to the lowest penalty allowed by state law?[6] |
” |
Ordinance summary
The Toledo branch of Ohio NORML provided the following summary of the "Sensible Marijuana Ordinance:"[2]
| “ |
In accordance with Article 18 of the Ohio Constitution, the State of Ohio grants local municipalities the authority to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and enforce within their limits such local police, sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws. Ohio Courts have ruled; they do not consider a “difference in penalty only” to be in conflict with state law. If the violation is currently a crime, it must stay a crime however the penalties can be adjusted. There are a set of rulings by Ohio Courts that lay the groundwork to keep local laws compliant with state laws. These existing rulings were used to guide the drafting of the language of “The Sensible Marihuana Ordinance”. Local laws can be enacted in multiple ways;
The Ohio Constitution grants this local “Home Rule” authority to every city in Ohio. This means every city in Ohio can enact The Sensible Marihuana Ordinance by either method.
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” |
| —Toledo branch of Ohio NORML[2] | ||
Support
Supporters
The campaign in favor of Issue 1 was called Sensible Toledo.[7]
The Northwest Ohio Chapter of the NORML was behind this initiative.[8]
Representatives of the Toledo chapters of the National Organization for Women and the American Civil Liberties Union endorsed a "yes" vote on Issue 1.[9]
Arguments in favor
Sean Nestor of Northwest Ohio NORML said, “We’re saying we want to be as lenient as possible. Since Colorado and Washington has legalized, everyone is revisiting the issue and we can be on the cutting edge of that to reduce penalties. It’s not legalization, but decriminalization.”[3]
Mary Smith, president of the local chapter of NORML, said, “Even though this does not make it legal, it takes away the penalty and gives people the ability to take control of their own lives. We’re not talking about cartels, we’re talking about cancer patients and soccer moms who want to live to see next week. These people have been medicating themselves for years up until this point. Let them do it.”[3]
Kenneth Sharp, "Sensible Toledo Marijuana Ballot Issue 1 for September 15, 2015," July 14, 2015 |
Nester said:
| “ |
What we want to do is move toward relaxing marijuana laws, if not removing them entirely, or at least structuring them so that it's a controlled, regulated and taxed substance, akin to alcohol and I think that's the final outcome that many of us in the marijuana advocacy movement would want. For us it's really about letting people know that they have this really interesting issue that they can vote on, and hopefully that will bring out more people, increase voter turnout, and give people a little more plugged into their government and public policy. We're really just trying to get to the root of a lot of social ills by saying that Toledo is ready, that Toledo will be the first major city in this state to step forward and say we think that it's time for the laws to change. That will help the movement for a review of marijuana laws tremendously.[6] |
” |
| —Sean Nestor[10] | ||
Editorials
- The Toledo Blade editorial board endorsed a "yes" vote on Issue 1. An excerpt of the editorial is below:
| “ |
Whatever their feelings about the statewide proposal, Toledoans should consider Issue 1 on its own merits. It wouldn’t affect state law, and would help Toledo refocus its efforts, as other cities have, on dangerous criminal offenders rather than expend more resources than it needs to on largely victimless offenses. The Blade recommends a YES vote on Issue 1.[6] |
” |
| —The Toledo Blade editorial board[11] | ||
Opposition
If you know of an endorsement or argument that should be posted here, please email the Local Ballot Measures Project staff writer.
Other opinions
Public Information Officer Sgt. Joe Heffernan of the Toledo Police Department (TPD) declined to present the position of the department on the initiative. He said, “We don’t like to get involved in legislation. Our job is simply to enforce laws the legislators make."[3]
Background
Although enforcement of marijuana laws in Ohio was considered relatively lenient, the Toledo Police Department seized 373,796 grams of marijuana and 781 plants in 2013. The TPD confiscated an additional 359,852 grams of marijuana and 1,262 more plants as of November 2014.[3]
Path to the ballot
The Northwest Ohio Chapter of NORML needed about 6,000 valid signatures to qualify this measure for the city's September election in 2015. The group collected around 13,000 signatures between May and the beginning of August in 2014. Ultimately, the petition was certified, and the initiative was put on the ballot.[3]
Related measures
Statewide
- Ohio Issue 2, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2023)
- Ohio Issue 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2015)
Local
- City of Brownsville Medical and Recreational Marijuana Facilities Advisory Question, Measure 22-134 (May 2015)
- City of Denver "Limited Social Marijuana Consumption Initiative" (November 2015)
- City of East Lansing Marijuana Decriminalization Proposal (May 2015)
- City of Montrose Marijuana Decriminalization Proposal (February 2015)
- City of Portage Marijuana Decriminalization Proposal (November 2015)
- City of Sunnyside Recreational Marijuana Production and Sales Advisory Question, Proposition 1 (August 2015)
- City of Wichita Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (April 2015)
- Houston, Alaska, Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative, Proposition No. H-1 (October 2015)
- Nashville-Davidson County Metro Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (August 2015)
- Palmer, Alaska, Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative, Proposition No. P-1 (October 2015)
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Toledo marijuana decriminalization Issue 1. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Other elections
See also
- Local marijuana on the ballot
- September 15, 2015 ballot measures in Ohio
- Lucas County, Ohio ballot measures
- Toledo, Ohio municipal elections, 2015
External links
Support
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Toledo Blade, "Judge: Portions of city’s new marijuana law unconstitutional," February 13, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Toledo NORML, "Summary of the Sensible Marihuana Ordinance," accessed March 26, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Toledo Free Press, "Local group seeks to decriminalize marijuana in ballot measure," March 26, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Blade, "City marijuana law of no fines, jail in use," January 11, 2016
- ↑ Lucas County Elections Office, "Official Questions and Issues for Primary Election on September 15, 2015," accessed August 14, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Sensible Toledo, "Home," accessed September 2, 2015
- ↑ Toledo NORML, "Home," accessed March 26, 2015
- ↑ Toledo Blade, "Local NOW, ACLU reps endorse pot decriminalization in Toledo," August 20, 2015
- ↑ Toledo News Now, "Only on 11: Pot decriminalization to appear on Toledo primary ballot," July 13, 2015
- ↑ The Toledo Blade, "Yes on Issue 1: A proposal that would reduce marijuana penalties in Toledo deserves voters’ support next month," August 21, 2015
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