To learn how to mount a losing political campaign, look no further than Ohio’s Tuesday defeat of a ballot proposal that would have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana. The passed measure would have been historic in a number of ways.
But the measure failed in large part due to how it was conceived. A consortium of wealthy Ohio investors crafted a plan whereby they each contributed money to the ResponsibleOhio plan for legalization. The top ten donors to ResponsibleOhio would then be granted rights to Ohio’s ten state cultivation licenses should the measure pass.
It is hard to believe that state legislators would so willingly go along with this plan. But state politicians were no match for ResponsibleOhio’s deep pockets. The legalization …show more content…
Person after person on the street in Ohio shared the same sentiment: we support marijuana legalization, particularly for medical use, but we don’t support granting a monopoly to the already wealthy who have bought their way in.
ResponsibleOhio was banking on voters wanting their marijuana more than they cared about the rich getting richer or some political back dealing. It turns out voters care about the ethics of marijuana legalization as well.
65 percent of Ohio voters opposed the marijuana legalization ballot measure. 35 percent voted in favor. The vote results differ significantly from the 56% of voters polled before the vote who favor marijuana legalization.
Ohio voters believed, whether valid or not, that they were being sold a bill of goods. In today’s era of political scandals and financial gamesmanship the ResponsibleOhio effort was doomed from the start because of this.
ResponsibileOhio failed to understand the dynamics of the 1% buying their way into what may be the most lucrative consumer market of the past century. And at the heart of the matter, marijuana legalization has historically been a grassroots type effort. The Ohio people are pragmatic and in this case refused to be bullied by some rich people who wanted to make themselves richer at the expense of everyone else.
Rest assured, Nick Lachey and his cronies will take another bite at the apple. But maybe they will hire some better PR people next
But the measure failed in large part due to how it was conceived. A consortium of wealthy Ohio investors crafted a plan whereby they each contributed money to the ResponsibleOhio plan for legalization. The top ten donors to ResponsibleOhio would then be granted rights to Ohio’s ten state cultivation licenses should the measure pass.
It is hard to believe that state legislators would so willingly go along with this plan. But state politicians were no match for ResponsibleOhio’s deep pockets. The legalization …show more content…
Person after person on the street in Ohio shared the same sentiment: we support marijuana legalization, particularly for medical use, but we don’t support granting a monopoly to the already wealthy who have bought their way in.
ResponsibleOhio was banking on voters wanting their marijuana more than they cared about the rich getting richer or some political back dealing. It turns out voters care about the ethics of marijuana legalization as well.
65 percent of Ohio voters opposed the marijuana legalization ballot measure. 35 percent voted in favor. The vote results differ significantly from the 56% of voters polled before the vote who favor marijuana legalization.
Ohio voters believed, whether valid or not, that they were being sold a bill of goods. In today’s era of political scandals and financial gamesmanship the ResponsibleOhio effort was doomed from the start because of this.
ResponsibileOhio failed to understand the dynamics of the 1% buying their way into what may be the most lucrative consumer market of the past century. And at the heart of the matter, marijuana legalization has historically been a grassroots type effort. The Ohio people are pragmatic and in this case refused to be bullied by some rich people who wanted to make themselves richer at the expense of everyone else.
Rest assured, Nick Lachey and his cronies will take another bite at the apple. But maybe they will hire some better PR people next