Proposal to erase criminal records should be rejected

Despite the crushing defeat of the marijuana legalization issue in the Nov. 3 general election, proponents aren’t packing up their water pipes and going home. They already have set their sights on 2016.

But unlike this year, Responsible- Ohio, the political action committee that led the fight on behalf of the drug cartel that stood to financially benefit from legalization, has adopted a new strategy. It represents political cynicism at its finest.

Come January, the Ohio General Assembly will be asked to pass a citizen-initiated law that would provide for the expungement of criminal records stemming from marijuana convictions – if possession of marijuana is no longer illegal.

In other words, the Fresh Start Act, as it is formally called, would be the opening salvo of the marijuana legalization push next year.

When – not if – the Republican controlled General Assembly fails to enact Fresh Start, ResponsibleOhio would have to collect another 91,677 signatures to place the expungement measure on the November 2016 ballot. The committee was able to submit the Fresh Start initiative to the Legislature after Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted certified 117,418 valid signatures of Ohio voters. The group had turned in 236,759 signatures, but only 91,677 were needed.

Just as we argued vociferously against State Issue 3, we are just as adamantly opposed to the expungement of criminal records. Such cleansing means there are no consequences to breaking the law.

There’s another reason for state lawmakers to tell ResponsibleOhio to take their plan to the voters: Misdemeanor drug offenders already can petition a court to have their records sealed.

And, according to the Plain Dealer of Cleveland, Ohio decriminalized marijuana in the 1970s. Possession of small amounts of marijuana is a minor misdemeanor with a fine and, in many places, driver’s license suspension.

But ResponsibleOhio has argued that there is an unequal application of the anti-marijuana laws.

“In nearly every media market in the state, there is a city which is applying tougher rules to simple marijuana possession than the state at large does,” proponents of expungement said when the proposed law was first discussed earlier this year.

LAWBREAKING IS CRIME

But as we argued in an editorial earlier this year, individuals who have been charged with and convicted on possession have broken the law, plain and simple.

We also localized the argument against the expungement law by noting that even tougher enforcement has not dissuaded drug gangs in the city of Youngstown from operating with abandon. The consistently high crime rate in the city is attributable to the drug trade.

But, in pushing the expungement initiative, ResponsibleOhio argues that it would provide “Ohioans who were convicted of marijuana charges the ability to have a clean slate so they can care for themselves and their families.”

That argument obviously struck a chord with quite a few Ohioans, but that does not mean the General Assembly should put its seal of approval on this ill-advised endeavor.

Indeed, the question must be asked: Is this really about giving individuals with criminal records a second chance, or is it simply to build support for the legalization of marijuana?

The answer can be found in an email that ResponsibleOhio Executive Director Ian James sent to the Plain Dealer:

“Our goal remains the same – pass the Fresh Start Act and legalize marijuana as soon as November 2016.”

Given that State Issue 3 was defeated in the general election by almost 1 million votes, it is clear that the proponents need a new strategy to overcome the opposition.

Telling individuals convicted of marijuana offenses that they would be able to request destruction of their criminal records undoubtedly will resonate with a sizeable number of people.

However, we believe Ohioans will see through this sleight-of-hand to win support for the legalization of marijuana. There is nothing to suggest that ResponsibleOhio and others will abandon their goal of creating a drug cartel to profit from what could be a $2 billion industry.

Republicans and Democrats in the Ohio General Assembly have expressed an interest in exploring the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes only. That is a legitimate issue for public discussion.