Julia Starostina

Special to The Enquirer

Don't expect Ohio Gov. Mike to take advantage of Cincinnati's new law decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

"I don't think it's a great idea," DeWine said a day after Cincinnati City Council voted to decriminalize possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana.

DeWine's comments to The Enquirer came after a speech at the Cincinnati Rotary Club. The Republican governor declined more specific comments on Cincinnati's ordinance, saying he was not familiar with the details.

"I’m against legalization of marijuana. Yes, I am," said DeWine, who said earlier he has never smoked marijuana. He said frequent use of marijuana is risky, particularly for young people.

"We have evidence now that (if) someone is using marijuana and their brain is still developing, which can be up until their twenties, if they use it regularly, they can have a significant, permanent drop in IQ," he added.

"Some people look at marijuana as just some benign drug, and it’s really not," he said.

Cincinnati City Council this week voted to decriminalize marijuana possession up to 100 grams. That means that in 30 days Cincinnatians would be allowed to have small amounts of marijuana without fear of fines or prosecution.

The ordinance passed 5-3. Mayor John Cranley said he won’t veto it.

Cincinnati isn’t the first city in Ohio to end prosecution or enact municipal laws decriminalizing minor marijuana violations. Dayton, Toledo and Norwood have already done so in the state.

Those cities now have laws that differ from state laws. Under Ohio law, possession of less than 100 grams of cannabis is a minor misdemeanor punishable by a $150 fine.

Possession of 100 to 200 grams is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 days imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250. Anyone caught possessing 200 grams or more is subject to felony charges.

A joint contains roughly 0.32 grams of marijuana. So, 100 grams of marijuana would be more than 300 joints.

The city's decriminalization law doesn't replace Ohio law, but police officials said they would choose the new city law. In that case offenders would get a ticket that carries no fine and creates no criminal record.