In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss efforts to reform drug laws so users would avoid jail time and the stigma of a felony conviction. Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist for the ACLU of Ohio, joins the show.
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On this week's episode:
Just Say No
Efforts to decriminalize marijuana continue to grow around the country, as well as in Ohio cities like Columbus and Cincinnati. Prosecutors and lawmakers are looking at reducing criminal penalties for just possessing drugs.
Sentencing reform advocates asked Ohio voters last fall to change the state’s constitution to lower drug penalties, but that effort failed. Now lawmakers are considering changing state law to do basically the same thing. Senate Bill 3 is a bipartisan bill that looks to reclassify marijuana possession from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Snollygoster Of The Week
The Columbus City Council recently passed a 5% ticket tax to fund maintenance and repairs for the Blue Jackets' home, Nationwide Arena. The venue is owned by the taxpayers of Columbus and Franklin County, and the hockey team uses it rent-free.
The ticket tax goes into effect on July 1. But the Blue Jackets are telling season ticket holders that if they commit to buying season tickets before then, they won’t have to pay the tax.
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