Mahoning County CSB officials criticize Issue 3

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County Children Services Board and its management staff are opposed to Issue 3, the Nov. 3 ballot measure that would legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use in Ohio.

Randall Muth, the child welfare agency’s executive director, said the board voted this month to authorize him to speak to the media on the board’s behalf against this issue, but did not pass a formal board resolution of opposition.

“We believe that making marijuana legal will increase the likelihood that our citizens will use and abuse marijuana,” Muth said.

Studies have shown marijuana abuse has “a detrimental effect on parenting ability,” he said.

A telephone survey of 3,023 Californians published in July found an association between marijuana use and physical abuse of children, Muth said. Marijuana is legal in California only for medical purposes.

“Parents who reported using marijuana in the past year engaged in physical abuse three times more frequently than those who did not,” said the study published in the Child Abuse & Neglect journal.

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