Repubs in Ohio want to legalize medical pot???

[Holly_Hobby]

What about this am I missing? FYI-Kasich is our governor...

http://www.13abc.com/home/headlines/Ohio-375583301.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_13abc

[yesphan]

1. Capitalism

BIG $$$$$$$

[Holly_Hobby]

2. Yep...n/t

[0rganism]

3. excellent news, Dems should welcome their assistance

medical marijuana is nothing less than a life saver for many.

the political motivation is probably a bid to keep the issue off the November ballot (looks like a ballot measure is pending) which would give local Republicans a better chance at holding their seats in the fall.

i'd say work with them get it available on the market as soon as possible. the potential benefits of having this damn-near-harmless substance ready to treat things like PTSD and seizures by far outweighs any partisan positioning around the issue.

[WhiteTara]

6. There is a caveat.

Only 5 companies will be allowed to grow and sell. Everyone else is out.

[0rganism]

7. better 5 than 0

and later on, when marijuana is legalized nationwide, there will be a wider selection

demanding market purity on this from a corrupt Republican-dominated political system is asking far too much; fix it later

[TransitJohn]

4. They did the same in Nevada

When they legalized medical marijuana, they made it incredibly expensive to get a license, like hundreds of thousands of dollars, effectively locking out any small business people. They also attached stipulations that a license had to be held by a state resident. The net result is that most legal growers in Nevada are retired cops, judges, and legislators, getting rich. Crony capitalism at its best.

[FrodosPet]

5. And some Dems want to keep it illegal

Marijuana is one of the few trans-partisan issues out there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/us/politics/despite-support-in-party-democratic-governors-resist-legalizing-marijuana.html?_r=0

By ADAM NAGOURNEY - APRIL 5, 2014

~ snip ~

At a time of rapidly evolving attitudes toward marijuana legalization — a slight majority of Americans now support legalizing the drug — Democratic governors across the country, Mr. Brown among them, find themselves uncomfortably at odds with their own base.

Even with Democrats and younger voters leading the wave of the pro-legalization shift, these governors are standing back, supporting much more limited medical-marijuana proposals or invoking the kind of law-and-order and public-health arguments more commonly heard from Republicans. While 17 more states — most of them leaning Democratic — have seen bills introduced this year to follow Colorado and Washington in approving recreational marijuana, no sitting governor or member of the Senate has offered a full-out endorsement of legalization. Only Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat in Vermont, which is struggling with a heroin problem, said he was open to the idea.

~ snip ~

“Either they don’t care about it as passionately or they feel embarrassed or vulnerable. They fear the judgment,” said Ethan Nadelmann, the founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that favors decriminalization of marijuana. “The fear of being soft on drugs, soft on marijuana, soft on crime is woven into the DNA of American politicians, especially Democrats.”

~ snip ~

“All of a sudden, if there’s advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation?” Mr. Brown said in an interview on “Meet the Press” last month. “The world’s pretty dangerous, very competitive. I think we need to stay alert, if not 24 hours a day, more than some of the potheads might be able to put together.”

~ snip ~