Dennis Cauchon

On Tuesday, Athens voters overwhelmingly approved ending all penalties for marijuana possession of up to seven ounces. This ballot measure is a hidden gem in this week’s election results and deserves statewide recognition for expanding civil liberties and moving Ohio a step closer to marijuana legalization, which the ACLU has long supported. Athens is now the sixth Ohio city in which voters have used constitutional “home rule authority” to remove all marijuana possession penalties under municipal law. This “depenalization” law means that no fines, court costs or other penalties may be imposed on cannabis users. The effort goes a step beyond the state’s marijuana “decriminalization” law, adopted in 1977 and followed in most (but not all) Ohio municipalities. The state law makes marijuana possession a minor misdemeanor, subject to a fine of up to $150 but no jail time (i.e., “decriminalized”). But despite Ohio’s reputation as being one of the first states to decriminalize marijuana, our state has a dirty little secret: 41 cities with a total population of one million overrode state law and passed local laws to recriminalize marijuana. (See the list here.) In addition, 50 cities with a total population of 1.8 million criminalize marijuana paraphernalia, even though the state legislature decriminalized this offense in 2012. (See that list here.) Removing local penalties has tangible results.  The recriminalization of marijuana by local governments creates criminal records for some Ohioans every year. In addition, many thousands pay fines and other fees even when the offense is treated “like a traffic ticket.” Further, “depenalization” ends the financial incentive to harass marijuana users, especially minorities disproportionately targeted for enforcement.

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