Ohioans voted resoundingly against amending the Ohio constitution at the polls yesterday by defeating Issue 1.
Issue 1 would have given first- and second-time non-violent drug offenders the option to choose treatment rather than jail. It failed by a 68-percent to 32-percent margin, with 80 percent of the vote accounted for.
Opponents said the language of Issue 1 was ambiguous because it did not distinguish drug traffickers from drug users and ignored the type and quantity of drug involved in the crime.
Jenny Camper, campaign manager for Ohioans Against Unsafe Drug Laws, said Issue 1 failed because it was unnecessary.
“We needed to focus on the fact that Issue 1 was ineffective,” she said. “I feel real good that we stuck with our strategy and stayed the course. We stuck to talking about what was contained in Issue 1. We already have a mindset in Ohio to put drug offenders in treatment.”
Camper said a lot of the credit to the defeat of Issue 1 should go to Toledo Mayor Jack Ford.
“Mayor Ford was very active,” Camper said. “He is a former treatment provider. He brought experience and respect to the team.”
Camper said Ohio voters “saved our constitution from a 6,500 word monstrosity of an initiative that would have set back the way treatment providers and law enforcement work together.”
The governor addressed an enthusiastic crowd of about 60 supporters last night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
“I want to thank all of the voters of the state who voted to defeat Issue 1,” Taft said. “It was a superb effort in many ways. It was an historic effort.”
Taft said the state will continue to support those who need treatment for drug addiction.
“Part of the reason we were able to defeat this issue was due to the advances we made in treatment,” he said.
“We want to continue with treatment of drug offenders by using tough love,” he said.
Taft thanked his wife for her determination in defeating Issue 1.
“Hope understands this field,” he said. “I tried to warn the backers of Issue 1 not to mess with Hope Taft.”
Camper also lauded Mrs. Taft’s efforts, and said the opposition underestimated her expertise.
“She has been a tireless advocate of drug treatment across the state,” Camper said.
Edward J. Orlett, campaign director for Issue 1, said Issue 1 would have saved the state roughly $356 million in incarceration expenses because drug treatment costs $3,500 annually per person as opposed to the $23,000 yearly price tag for incarceration.
Proposals similar to Issue 1 have been passed in other states. In 1996, Arizona approved treatment instead of jail proposals, and California approved a proposal for first- and second-time non-violent offenders in 2000.
