HB218 ‘THE SKUNK BILL’
It’s back again with a new name. By now many of you have seen House Bill 218. It is nearly identical to language that was just tossed out of the budget bill. There it was called amendment 1793. Well they can call it what they want. You can rename a skunk, it still smells bad. I think this one does too.
This bill was introduced May 31 by Geauga County Probate Judge Grendell’s pal Rep. Bill Seitz.
I got a chuckle when I read the “Constitutional Disclaimer” at the end of the bill. This bill is so bad it needs to claim that it is constitutional. Sorry, I don’t think so. No, I suspect that instead it is a way to slap citizens with fines or potentially even jail time for criticizing or delving too deeply into park operations and expenditures.
It will seek to extract monies from a township(s). It will enable the court to tell a township to refrain from forming its own parks. The Probate judge will become investigator, prosecutor, judge/jury. He will even decide the penalties.
It’s summer and you’ve likely got your windows open at night. If that distinct and unpleasant aroma wafts in, just think that if the “Skunk Bill” passes and becomes law, Ohio will smell like that all the time.
Dave Partington
Munson Township
Medical Marijuana Myth
As the myth of medical marijuana marches on, there remain so many areas of concern, from the environmental issues of grow/processing sites to the lack of research/testing of the “final” products.
So many people are looking at the euphoria producing drug, THC (delta-9 tetracannabinol) as a medical miracle that it bears repeating it has not been researched, tested for side/long term effects, vetted through clinical trials for efficacy or approved by the FDA. As a comparison, every drug you take or give to your children has been through the following processes (reader’s digest version):
- Initial research: average three years (study disease weakness/find chemical to test)
- First clinical trial: average two years; 20 to 80 healthy volunteers (verify safety)
- Second clinical trial: average three years; 100 to 300 volunteers with disease (different dosages)
- Third clinical trial: average three years; 1,000 to 3,000 volunteers with disease (efficacy/side effects)
If the trial is successful:
- Submit to FDA for approval: average one year
- Next three years drug is marketed; a fourth clinical trial is required if adverse effects noted
- Total average time to develop and market a new drug (safely): 12 years (study done by Tufts Center for Study of Drug Development in 2016)
Ask yourself, are you willing to use a product or give it to your children without this background?
Are you willing to risk becoming addicted, building tolerance, needing stronger drugs?
How will your physician know the correct dosage, the potential side and long-term effects?
What will it be like having a grow site near you (Painesville, Eastlake)? (the smell, the enormous use of electric and water for 24-hour production)
What about processing sites? (noise, smell, waste products)
What about dispensaries? (Pot shops, local property crime, public use)
Beware the myths coming out of “legal” states that are beginning to experience the negative effects of this industry. Don’t allow desperation to blind you to facts (not anecdotes). Educate yourself with the truth. There are many reputable, non-biased organizations that continue to monitor and study the “cannabis sativa” industry and it’s claims. (HIDTA, DFAA, SAM)
Suzi Breedlove, CAM (Citizens Against Marijuana)
Montville Township
