President’s Note: Is Legalized Marijuana Inevitable?

(Winter 2015) On November 4, 64% of Ohio voters rejected Issue 3 which would have legalized the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana. So where does this leave us?

Currently, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medicinal use of marijuana, and four states plus the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use. In all cases, medicinal use came before the okay for recreational use. What Ohio attempted was unprecedented. As State Representative and former editor of The Columbus Dispatch Mike Curtin described, Issue 3 was the state’s effort to, “… go from zero to 100 in 10 seconds … catapult[ing] Ohio to the absolute bleeding edge of experimentation …”

Working Partners® commitment throughout the campaign process was (and will continue to be), helping businesses examine how marijuana legalization does and will impact business. Before, during and since this campaign, audiences frequently ask us, “Well, isn’t legalization inevitable?”

Is legalization inevitable? Many news headlines across the nation point to Ohio’s outcome and report a resounding, “No!” as the answer to that question.

Working Partners® is, however, convinced that proposals will keep coming. Moreover, we know the intersection of “legal” and marijuana is progressively morphing. There is a growing body of solid knowledge as time passes.

States that have legalized are feeling their way through their new laws and determining what rules and protections are necessary. Turmoil regarding cultivation; product manufacture, distribution and dispensation; quality and safety assurances for the public; and a mountain of legal exposures is being reported. Time is providing the opportunity to gather data and observations on these states’ experiments. Under current operations, many states are experiencing:

• an increase in health and safety risks for youth and adults
• higher costs and less revenue than initially projected by proponents
• a more complicated and costly legal net of confusion than imagined
• a lower reduction in criminal activity and criminal justice burden than anticipated

Ohio’s Issue 3 was but one initiative. And although it was a very well-funded campaign, it failed to carry even one of Ohio’s 88 counties. Analysts report the initiative failed principally because it established a monopoly, was complicated to understand, opened the door to edible products and restricted home growth. However, we hear from around the United States that a grand lesson learned from this campaign is that business involvement made a difference!

The business community’s participation in the Issue 3 debate helped raise awareness of employers everywhere.   With their attention to this issue, we all learned that there are many questions regarding how marijuana legalization impacts an employer’s abilities in three areas: workplace operations, workforce readiness and legal considerations.

However, just because Issue 3 was defeated doesn’t mean efforts to legalize marijuana in Ohio are dead. There are currently several initiatives that have been introduced in Ohio, each with varying objectives. In the mix is a bill in the State’s Health & Aging Committee, and three initiatives (one of which is a proposed Constitutional Amendment) that proponents are currently gathering signatures for in hopes of a vote in fall 2016. These initiatives run the gamut in what they propose, some involve only medical marijuana, some include personal use and some address hemp products. No doubt, before the next election, some of these initiatives are likely to fade away and others added.

However, there is a constant – none of these initiatives adequately address business concerns.

Employers face complications and costs in three ways with any marijuana initiative because of one key underlying fact: The possession or use of marijuana is illegal at the federal level.

1. If a concern is vague or unaddressed in state law, it will likely cost resources to sort out any position employers want to take.
2. If employers take action and feel supported by the state law, they may be challenged for being in violation of federal law.
3. If employers act in concert with the federal law, they may be challenged by an inconvenienced employee because he/she feels supported by state law.

Marijuana is a business concern!

So, what does Working Partners® see in our crystal ball about the legalization issue? No outcomes, just advice. Thanks to Issue 3 and the raised awareness, the Ohio business community has demonstrated that employers can and should take action to prevent the burdens to their operations that employers have experienced in other states.

In Ohio, however, the challenge is just ramping up. All Ohio employers must be attentive and participate in these discussions. Ask questions. Defend and challenge on behalf of your concerns!

And what’s Working Partners® role? We will continue to be a resource for businesses, keeping you apprised of what the issues are. Toward that end, we will adopt the Working Partners® website area, formerly called “Issue 3 Business Impact,” to an area where you can turn for marijuana legalization information and updates.

Stay tuned! Stay informed!

Yours,

Dee Mason
President