Ohio's failure to legalize marijuana tells us little about reform, and less about the future

Tonight, Ohio voters rejected Issue 3, a referendum on recreational marijuana legalization. The ballot measure served as the only statewide marijuana measure to appear in 2015 and is the first defeat for marijuana advocates since Florida narrowly rejected medical marijuana last November. It is the first loss for a recreational legalization initiative since 2012.

For the marijuana reform community, Ohio’s rejection of the ballot measure is a setback, but the post-mortem on this referendum isn’t all that damning for the activist community. There were plenty of reasons why Ohio’s measure faced an uphill battle, and the forces of defeat had more to do with timing, referendum language, demographics, and other ballot initiatives than it did with public opinion on the issue.

Let’s breakdown some of the hurdles facing Ohio’s legalization initiative.

 

1. Timing matters for ballot initiatives

Ballot measures are sensitive to turnout not just in terms of the total number...

Rate this article: 

This marijuana news is brought to you by 420 Intel. For the latest breaking cannabis industry news, subscribe to the 420 Intel newsletter. If you'd like to promote your product or service in this area after every article, contact us.