A group calling for the decriminalization of marijuana is taking their case from Ohio’s municipalities to the Statehouse. But despite some success at the local level, they've found a less-receptive audience in the Republican-controlled legislature.



The Ohio Sensible Movement Coalition has successfully backed "no fine, no time" ballot measures in 12 communities since 2015, including Toledo, Logan and Newark. Those cities passed local ordinances that eliminated legal penalties for possession of less than 200 grams of marijuana.

Cincinnati’s city council approved a "no fine, no time" law this year, and the Columbus City Council has a hearing scheduled for July 18 to discuss reducing penalties for small quantities of pot. The coalition hopes to get the issue on the ballot in 12 other communities this fall.

Coalition members have met with legislators to discuss statewide decriminalization in recent weeks, armed with the belief that public opinion is on their side. Sensible Movement Coalition Executive Director Chad Thompson said the ballot measures indicate Ohioans favor relaxed marijuana laws.

"That is exactly what is going to change the situation on the state level," Thompson said. He wants to make misdemeanor marijuana offenses akin to jaywalking, a law that is rarely enforced.

Legislators who met with the coalition members expressed concerns.

Sen. Bill Coley, a Republican from Butler County in southwestern Ohio, worries decriminalizing marijuana would lead to more impaired driving. That would put traffic cops in a difficult position, he said, because breath tests exist to measure someone's blood alcohol level, but there is no such test available for marijuana.

"It just would not be prudent at this time to change the law," Cole said.

Sen. John Eklund cited an increase in marijuana-related traffic deaths in Colorado, which have more than doubled since the state legalized the drug in 2013. The black market for pot also persists in Colorado despite legalization, Eklund pointed out. Marijuana trafficking arrests have not dropped in Colorado or California, which legalized the drug in 2016.

Marijuana advocates argue that there is no proof the increases are connected to legalization.

"They were very thoughtful in their presentation, but my reaction was, 'no thank you.'" Eklund, a Republican from northeastern Ohio, said of the coalition.

Advocates for decriminalization argue that marijuana laws disproportionately harm minority communities, which suffer the bulk of marijuana-related arrests, even though surveys show they are no more likely to use the drug than whites. That claim is backed by numerous studies.

Toledo, advocates say, saw a significant drop in marijuana arrests after voters approved a "no fine, no time" law in 2015. A judge struck down parts of the law in 2016 on the grounds that it conflicts with state and federal law, but Thompson argued that the measure succeeded in sending a message to city officials. Toledo's municipal court handled more than 1,000 marijuana-related arrests per year leading up to "no fine, no time" in 2015. It handled fewer than 500 in each of the years that followed.

Officers can still make marijuana arrests at their discretion, Toledo's police chief said in a letter to the department following the vote, but they should take a number of factors into account first, including the will of city voters, 70 percent of whom approved the measure.

Marijuana has never been a priority for Toledo police, department spokesman Kevan Toney said.

Results were different in some smaller cities. Newark voters approved a "no fine, no time" law in 2016, but law director Doug Sassen said the city’s police and prosecutor continue to charge offenders under state law.

When they took their oath of office they swore to uphold all federal, state, and local laws, Sassen said.

Officials in Logan worry that the small city in Hocking County could lose out on state and federal grants if they decline to enforce marijuana laws, Logan police Capt. Ryan Gabriel said. City voters approved a “no fine, no time” bill in 2016.

Logan police issue between 50 and 100 misdemeanor marijuana citations per year, mostly from traffic stops, Gabriel said. That figure hasn’t changed since the "no fine, no time" bill. Police are charging offenders under state law.

Thompson said municipalities have the right to supersede the Ohio Revised Code thanks to home rule laws that give cities and towns the authority to set their own ordinances.

Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan Entin disagreed with that notion.

“I think that the state in this regard is going to supersede any local law,” said Entin, who has written about home rule in Ohio.

But Entin said local decriminalization campaigns have symbolic value by sending the message that legislators are out of step with public opinion.

pcooley@dispatch.com

@PatrickACooley