Ohio Fraternal Order of Police hoping for a ‘no’ on marijuana in Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Ohio Fraternal Order of Police says they are hoping for a “no” vote on legalizing marijuana in Ohio once it is on the ballot in November.

The ballot initiative would be to have marijuana legalized like alcohol. Anyone 21 or older would be able to purchase or grow marijuana, with sale or possession by minors illegal.

According to Gary Wolske, President of the Ohio FOP, they believe this will cause an increase in drug use and crime, fearing it could strain emergency crews.

“Crime is going to go up, so what does that mean? That means you’ll need more officers to respond to those calls and we don’t have those,” Wolske said, “the numbers (of officers) are down dramatically”.

Wolske said the FOP also fears that the legalization of marijuana could lead to more minors getting access to the drug.

19 News had previously spoke with the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, the group responsible for marijuana legalization on the ballot, and they said that portions of the taxes on marijuana would go towards preventing these issues. 36% of marijuana taxes would go towards social equity and job programs, and 25% going towards treatment and education.