MANSFIELD – The Richland County Commissioners, judges and local law enforcement are encouraging voters to say “no” to issue 1 in November’s election.
At its Tuesday, Oct. 2 meeting, Richland County Commissioners heard from Judge Brent Robinson, Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon, Mansfield Police Chief Ken Coontz and others before unanimously passing a resolution opposing what Commissioner Tony Vero called a “nonpartisan issue.”
If passed, Issue 1 would make possessing under a certain amount of drugs a misdemeanor and prevent courts from sending drug users to prison or jail on their first and second offenses. One problem local leaders see: It doesn’t distinguish between users and dealers.
“The real problem with this is it takes away the ability of judges to impose any consequences on someone who possesses drugs. It treats people who possess drugs as if they are all users … It treats dealers like users,” Robinson said.
On the other hand, the United Church of Christ, which has Mansfield locations, has endorsed a “yes” vote on Issue 1, saying it would make communities safer and provide more treatment options for people suffering from addiction.
“The long-held belief that mass incarceration of non-violent offenders is a pathway to rehabilitation is a costly delusion that ruins lives, fosters recidivism and lines the pockets of private prison owners. I am happy to support Issue 1 as a pathway to a more sane approach to our drug problems in this country, said Rev. John C. Dorhauer, United Church of Christ general minister and president in a press release.
A town hall meeting on this issue will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 on the third floor of the Richland County Courthouse in Judge Robinson’s courtroom.
On Tuesday, Robinson and Vero discussed concerns that the limits mentioned in issue 1 are too high.
“I can carry on me an amount of fentanyl that could kill about 20,000 people and I could never be incarcerated and/or put to jail for that, is that correct?” Vero asked Robinson.
“You’d have to have enough to kill 30,000, and then you could be put to jail for six months,” Robinson responded.
They were referencing a memo from Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor that explains how Issue 1 would make the possession of powdered fentanyl in amounts less than 20 grams a misdemeanor.
“Since the lethal dose of fentanyl is just 2 milligrams (one-thousandth of a gram), 19 grams of fentanyl is enough to kill approximately 10,000 people,” O’Connor writes in her memo. “So, if Issue 1 passes, an offender charged with possession of 19 grams of fentanyl would automatically get probation and could only be charged with a misdemeanor.
“Drug dealers would be incentivized to distribute fentanyl in amounts less than 20 grams so those caught possessing it would avoid incarceration.”
When speaking Tuesday with the commissioners, Robinson also expressed concern about how Issue 1 could affect how judges could address users of methamphetamine.
“This really, really weakens our laws on possession of methamphetamine when we’re just seeing this uptick in it, which is a very serious problem,” Robinson said. “This is not the solution.”
He emphasized efforts like the county’s drug court, which aims to help users overcome their addiction through a system of positive reinforcements for good behavior combined with sanctions for bad behavior. The program has a 70-percent graduation rate and is one of the “most effective programs,” he explained.
“You’re trying to get someone who’s addicted to one of the hardest substances to get off of, if they don’t have any negative consequence for not using, they’re going to continue to use,” Robinson said.
Both Commissioner Vero and Prosecutor Gary Bishop highlighted how “misleading” they believe Issue 1 is for voters.
“It’s not just the low-level possessors of these drugs, it’s all,” Bishop said.
Vero explained that it’s easy to initially agree with the first section of the amendment, but when read in its entirety he believes the amendment spells bad news for Ohio.
“The very first section says, ‘The people of Ohio find and declare that drug addiction is a serious societal problem that presents issues of public health and safety and incarcerating users rather than providing treatment,’ he said. “(But) I see nothing in this amendment that mandates treatment for offenders.”
He also shared concern about where the amendment originated from, saying that $3 million in total was coming from organizations like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Open Society Policy Center and the Open Philanthropy Process.
“This is not an Ohio-led initiative first and foremost, which is scary from where I sit,” he said.
Vero’s fellow Commissioner Marilyn John said she can recall only a few occasions where the commissioners have passed a resolution regarding a ballot issue.
“It’s very rare that the county commissioners take a stance and pass a resolution in support or opposition of an issue that’s going to be on the ballot, and we have heard all of you come out for very valid reasons and feel strongly enough that we felt we should take a stand … in opposition of it,” John said.
Sheriff Steve Sheldon expressed some concern about overfilling the county jails. While sending someone to jail would be difficult if Issue 1 passed, sending them to federal prison would be even more challenging.
“Issue 1 really ties the judges hand, and we certainly support the judges in their opposition to this. Law enforcement is in opposition to this,” Sheldon said.
Other concerns with Issue 1 voiced were that it could lead to decreased prison sentences for people already incarcerated for crimes other than murder, rape and child molestation. Sentences would be able to be decreased by up to 25 percent.
“The problem with that is we don’t have a crime in Ohio called child molestation. We have rape of a child, sexual battery of a child, we have those such crimes, but we don’t have any such animal as child molestation, so it’s drafted poorly in that regard,” Robinson said.
Further, the local leaders are unhappy Issue 1 would be passed as a constitutional amendment.
“If the consequences are as bad as I think they are going to be, it’ll take a year to even get something on the ballot to try to remove it – it would require another constitutional amendment,” Robinson said.
This type of legislation, he said, should go through the state legislature.
“If you make Ohio the most lenient state in the United States of America on drug use, you’re just encouraging people who use drugs to come here, and if you encourage people who are drug users … you’re encouraging people who are also dealers to come to our state.”
Town hall meeting on Issue 1 will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 on the third floor of the Richland County Courthouse in Judge Robinson’s courtroom.
