Boards of elections directors in Mahoning and Trumbull counties predict a colossal number of voters will stampede to the polls now through Election Day on Nov. 7, motivated in large part by state Issue 2 to legalize recreational marijuana for adults in Ohio.

Coupled with the highly emotional and divisive Issue 1 to liberalize abortion and reproductive rights, the marijuana initiative has made this off-year election exceptional.

As Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull elections board, put it: “We have the two polarizing issues that will bring people out that don’t normally come out to vote in odd years. It’s going to be pretty crazy.”

Crazy or not, this election requires voters to study candidates and issues carefully, logically and unemotionally. When they do on Issue 2, they should heed the respected views of some of the leading law enforcement, business and health organizations in the Buckeye State and soundly reject the measure.

Specifically, Issue 2 passage would legalize and regulate recreational marijuana for Ohioans 21 years old and older and would allow cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession and home growth. Adults would be allowed legally to possess up to 2.5 ounces of the drug, and individual households would be permitted to cultivate up to 12 cannabis plants.

Many of our fears of its passage center on its strong potential for adverse economic impact to our state that continues to struggle to regain its footing in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Business and development organizations, such as the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Business Roundtable and the Ohio Manufacturers Association, have united in arguing that legalized recreational marijuana would worsen worker productivity, absenteeism and recruitment.

For example, the OMA cites a report by Quest Diagnostics that found the number of marijuana-positive drug tests performed after workplace accidents soared 204% from 2012 to 2022, coinciding with the trend of more states legalizing its recreational use.

As for Issue 2’s impact on public safety, those who argue decriminalizing marijuana will help police and sheriff’s agencies throughout the state clearly have not been listening to the warnings of such organizations as the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association and the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police.

Those groups have united to derail Issue 2. Based on a study it conducted and released recently, legalizing recreational marijuana would invite 48 more fatal vehicle crashes and 2,298 more injury crashes annually, based on projections using the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s crash statistics and research from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.

Gary Wolske, president of the Ohio FOP, rightly asks, “Why would we ever go to the ballot and knowingly, willingly vote these new deaths and injuries upon ourselves, our families, our neighbors?

“It’s cruel and unthinkable.”

Health care advocates, too, stand against Issue 2. The Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, the Ohio State Medical Association and the Ohio Nurses Association all line up to urge rejection of marijuana decriminalization. Children’s hospital leaders say they do not want to risk recklessly exposing young people to mind-altering substances in kid-friendly formats, such as edible candy and cookies.

In Trumbull County, the Mental Health and Recovery Board recently passed a formal position of opposition to Issue 2. April Caraway, its director, noted cannabis disorder is in the agency’s Top 10 of substance abuse scenarios and making it legal would make it appear to be less harmful to impressionable children.

Of course, Issue 2 has its fair share of supporters. One of its leading advocates is U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, who represents Trumbull County and serves as co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. Joyce argues there are “better uses of law enforcement resources than pursuing low-level possession convictions.” Joyce also emphasizes that employers will still have the right to outlaw its use among their workforces.

Frankly, Joyce’s arguments fail to sway us. Today’s law enforcement spends little time busting low-level marijuana users, and employers likely will face even more difficulty recruiting individuals who can pass drug tests should the initiative pass.

Eight years ago, responsible Ohioans wisely defeated a similar recreational marijuana proposal on the ballot by a 64% to 36% margin. This year we call on voters to do likewise but by an even wider margin.