DEAR EDITOR:

I have been following with great interest The Vindicator’s reporting on Ohio Issue 2 and offer comments encouraging Ohio voters to defeat this dangerous initiative.

Is it any surprise individuals, businesses and groups who stand to make millions of dollars if Issue 2 passes are those pushing for marijuana legalization? Local dispensaries and cultivators favor legalized recreational marijuana, all in the name of creating a “safe and regulated” marijuana industry. However, while proponents see potential dollar signs, and talk of increased tax revenue for the state, they ignore many social and personal problems legalizing marijuana will bring.

For example, Issue 2 proponents contend passage will eliminate illegal marijuana “black market.” This is not true. Look to states where marijuana has been legal. There, “illegal” marijuana dealers simply sell their untaxed, cheaper marijuana on sidewalks near legal dispensaries. Closer look at states where marijuana is legal reveals many other negative issues resulting from it. Problems include increased teenage marijuana use, increased motorists driving impaired and subsequent increased traffic crashes, and increased children suffering accidental overdoses from marijuana edibles that look like candy.

For me, the most important reason to oppose marijuana legalization is harmful effects it would have on children, teenagers and young adults. Agencies such as Ohio Children’s Hospital Association and Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board oppose Issue 2. They deal with young people experiencing significant problems created by drug use and addiction. They also understand legalizing marijuana will lead to increased use by teenagers, and for many, greater likelihood of using other drugs and addiction.

Regardless of what the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol believes, marijuana is a “gateway drug.” Early marijuana use often progresses to other drug use, addiction and problems later in life.

An example was illustrated in an Oct. 8 Vindicator story. It ran next to an article about increasing overdose deaths in Mahoning County and an article about Issue 2, a Canfield mother talked about losing her 28-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning in 2019. It stated he “started using marijuana first and progressed to harder drugs.”

I have known too many people who started “smoking a little weed” as teenagers, not thinking it was a big deal. It was a step, or “gateway,” to years of increased drug use, addiction, education and employment problems, mental health issues, crime, incarceration, and for some, death.

Individuals who will reap huge financial benefits from legalized marijuana push hard for Issue 2 passage. If we care about wellbeing and future of young people, we will see through this weed smoke screen and recognize the terrible consequences of marijuana legalization.

Vote “no” on Issue 2.

CHUCK HILLMAN

Boardma