Leaders air views on pot

Random thoughts after the Ohio Associated Press Legislative Preview, which provided a forum for Ohio’s elected officials, lawmakers and others to comment on many issues:

Open to Discussions: House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville, doesn’t sound too keen on legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, but he’s open to discussion.

“I’m not a proponent of either – definitely not a proponent of recreational marijuana use, and right now I’m not a real big proponent of medical marijuana,” he said.

Shifting Rhetoric: In the past, many officeholders and candidates have been reticent to discuss their youthful experimentation of marijuana.

That could change, according to Republican state Treasurer Josh Mandel.

“I was talking with someone about that question in respect to politics and they said to me … over the past 30 years folks who have been running for president have been lying about whether or not they smoked pot during college in the ’60s,” Mandel said. “This guy told me he thinks, 25 years from now, politicians are going to be lying about whether they smoked pot in college, but it will be the opposite. It’ll be folks who didn’t smoke pot lying about the fact that they did.”

More on Pot: Ohio’s officeholders were asked whether they had ever tried marijuana.

Mandel, Attorney General Mike DeWine, House Speaker Rosenberger and Senate President Keith Faber all said, “No.”

Auditor Dave Yost, Secretary of State Jon Husted, House Minority Leader Fred Strahorn, Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor all replied in the affirmative, though they were careful to note they partook as teens or during their college years.

MANDEL FOR MARCO

Mandel on Kasich: Mandel was pressed on recent comments that he thought Gov. John Kasich would be out of the presidential race by the time of the GOP convention in Cleveland in July.

“I’ve said from the beginning, and I’ll reiterate: I’m not anti-the-governor,” Mandel said. “I’m pro- Marco [Rubio]. And I’m not going to sit here trashing anyone, whether it’s the governor or any other candidates. I’ve tried, I think in a very disciplined way, to focus my energies and comments in regard to the presidential election on being for Marco and why I think he’ll be the next president.”

Not Dragging Their Feet: The Republican leaders of the Ohio House and Senate attempted to explain their reluctance to move quickly on congressional redistricting reform, following last November’s Issue 1, revamping the way Ohio’s legislative districts are drawn.

They focused on the difference between legislative redistricting, which is handled by a separate state panel, and congressional redistricting, which has fallen under the authority of the legislature.

It doesn’t sound as if they want to give up the latter, though they did say they’re open to discussion on how to take partisanship out of the process.

“The redistricting that was passed in State Issue 1 and the redistricting we’re talking about, congressional redistricting, are in my opinion, apples and oranges,” Rosenberger said.

Democratic legislative leaders are more open to immediate action.

“Let’s do it,” Schiavoni said. “… I think the time is now.”

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.