The state Democratic Party won’t have as many uniformed voters heading to the polls on their behalf in Winnebago County this month. The County Board failed to approve a referendum asking voters if they support legalizing marijuana for recreational and medicinal use last night. A number of speakers from outside the county gave their impassioned pleas to hold the vote–including some claiming to have health conditions that “can only be treated with cannabis (the preferred replacement word for marijuana in this debate”–and that the non-binding referendum is going to “save their lives”.
Supervisors themselves trotted out the tired talking points of “they are going to smoke anyway” and “marijuana is a gateway drug to harder stuff” during their debate. Only a handful pointed out that the referendum is pointless–as it will not create any new laws and will be generally ignored by those that actually pass laws in this state. But what is never discussed is what legalized marijuana would actually “look like” here in Oshkosh. I’m not talking about the plant materials being sold–but rather the “industry” and the “culture” that would be created.
In states where recreational and medicinal marijuana use has already been legalized, dispensaries have become concentrated in predominantly minority neighborhoods. There they sit amongst liquor stores, check-cashing outlets, rent-to-own centers and payday lenders–the types of businesses that prey on uneducated consumers and those who really don’t have the money to be spending in them in the first place. So where could we expect out pot shops to go up in Oshkosh? Obviously, there will be one near the campus, and probably a couple along North Main Street. Southside locations would include Main Street again and Oregon. If convenience stores don’t fit Mayor Steve Cummings “grand vision” for Oshkosh–how will marijuana dispensaries in areas “ripe for redevelopment” go over?
And what will be our policies on public consumption of marijuana? The Oshkosh School District and the Boys and Girls Club conduct programs that seek to counteract the impact on kids of seeing their parents and friends abusing alcohol and drugs. How effective will those be when kids walk past dispensaries on their way to school? The City of Appleton is banning cigarette smoking from within 20-feet of their playgrounds. Would they have to add smoking a joint to that ban–or will the pro-pot groups claim that second-hand smoke would actually “improve” the health of kids–since it provides miracle cures for so many afflictions?
Finally, there are a number of legal aspects that never garner any discussion. We have a defined legal limit for alcohol consumption before one is considered impaired. We don’t have a defined legal limit for THC consumption before one is considered impaired. Because the use of a vehicle under the influence of any controlled substance is considered illegal the threshold is legally ZERO. But if marijuana is no longer a controlled substance, lawmakers will have to decide how high is too high to drive. And law enforcement will have to come up with a field test to determine if drivers are over that limit so that they can be removed from the streets–instead of waiting for blood test results that can take weeks. I am yet to hear one marijuana use supporter come before a government body with recommendations on any of the legal issues their proposals would raise.
Democrats are getting a little bit of help from the County Board, as they did approve the “non-paritisan body to oversee redistricting” referendum for the November ballot. But don’t ask anyone who “supports” that measure to explain how the math and the political science would work.
