High Marijuana Consumption And Tax Revenue Estimates For Ohio

Responsible Ohio is pushing a ballot issue to legalize marijuana in Ohio, estimating high annual consumption levels and tax revenue.

We spoke with with CEO of Muskingum Behavioral Health Steve Carrel who says he expects to see the issue of marijuana legalization appear on the ballot in November. Carrel spoke of the details about the consumption we could see here in our state.

“Depending on the number and where the numbers come from. The people putting the ballot language…the issue on the ballot. They’re estimating about 269 tons of pot.”

According to Carrel, Responsible Ohio reports that would equate to $554 million in tax revenue for the state. Carrel says before we legalize, we need to look at others who have experienced it and learn from them, such as Colorado. Carrel reports that projections of individuals who got the issue on the ballot out west were far too high. Carrel also addressed other debates in the legalization battle.

“There’s a whole line of thought of, lets at least legalize it medicinally. On those thoughts, you know, number one, there’s no medication that we know of that is smoked. Smoking is not good for the body and is it the whole plant that causes people to get well from whatever they say they’re getting well from or is it certain chemicals?…..If there are medicinal values to it, put it through the wringers of science.”

Carrel states that there are chemicals within the pot plant that appear to have medicinal values, not the part of the plant that gets an individual high and disrupts reasoning, thinking, and brain development. Responsible Ohio, though, believes otherwise. One statistic they use claims that medical marijuana can reduce PTSD symptoms in Ohio Veterans by 75%.