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John Kasich on DrugsRepublican Governor; previously Representative (OH-12); 2000 & 2016 candidate for President |
The bill lowers the amounts required to trigger escalating levels of felony penalties, keeping offenders in prison longer. "We're sending a message ... they're going to go to prison for a very long time," Kasich said.
Drug dealers convicted as major drug offenders in fentanyl-compound cases face additional mandatory prison terms of three to eight years. In some cases, the penalty for permitting drug abuse involving fentanyl will increase from a first-degree misdemeanor (a maximum of six months in jail) to a fifth-degree felony (up to a year in prison).
"It's important for low-level offenders to not be in the prison system," the second-term Republican governor said, adding he wants to study the issue further. "We won the battle, but not the war. It's not going to be won for a long time," Kasich said, referring to a 30-percent drop in prescribed doses of opioid painkillers--a "gateway" to heroin and fentanyl--and a six-year low in the number of deaths from prescribed drugs.
I said, "Let me ask you something. What are you doing to fix the drug problem?" I had stopped at a baseball game on my way to the event and asked this man if there was an anti-drug message delivered to those kids before the game. I asked if the local schoolteachers were warning kids of the dangers of drugs. I asked if whatever church or civic group this man belonged to was taking on the drug problem as an important part of its mission. I said, "So, what do you think?" I'm going to fly in here on Air Force One and fix your drug problem? YOU have to fix your drug problem."
The folks at that town hall seemed to get that the solutions to some of the very real problems facing the country were on them--AND they got that I was passionate about this.
KASICH: I was in Atlanta for Martin Luther King Day. And somebody asked, "what about Trump?" I said, "well, what about your neighbor? What about your kids?" MLK did not change America by going to the big shots. They wouldn't even meet with him. He brought [together people] who had moral outrage of what was happening in this country, and then the politicians got it.
Q: But MLK marched for racial equality and jobs. What is the march today?
KASICH: Right now in Columbus, we should be marching against the scourge of drugs. And it brings people together even in the political parties, the fight against drugs. The ability to keep our eyes open and to do things against the issue of human trafficking. The issue of racism. In my hometown, if we all marched against drugs, we'd begin to win that battle. People sometimes look at the problems and they think they're so big that I'm just one little person.
We moved the Highway Patrol into more aggressive interdiction to remove illegal drugs. Here's the understanding about Ohio. Why is Ohio at the epicenter of all this? It's location. 600 miles within 60 percent of the country. It's only a day from Mexico and the drug cartels. Believe me. Talk to the patrol. It's only a few hours from Chicago.
We created StartTalking! Talk to your kids. Talk to somebody who's not your kid. Just talk about it. 50% less likelihood if somebody would do drugs, opiates, that's how they start. These young kids, they go to a party and somebody says, "hey, they've got a bowl of pills." That's the moment of truth. The answer is "no, I don't want to be cool by taking drugs." That's what we're trying to do with StartTalking!
We spent nearly $1 billion on this issue of drugs. Our work is paying off. A 20 percent reduction in opiate prescriptions. Doctor shopping has fallen by 80%.
Kasich was asked at a news conference announcing new opioid prescription limits what role medical marijuana might play in addressing the growing number of opiate overdose deaths in Ohio. Kasich said telling kids not to do drugs but that marijuana is OK sends a mixed message. "I know it's not recreational marijuana, not recreational use, but I don't see a role for it in this at all," Kasich said.
Studies have shown opioid overdoses and deaths have decreased in states that allow medical marijuana, which is far less addictive and lethal. Republicans and Democrats cited the opioid crisis as a reason to pass Ohio's medical marijuana law last year.
"I don't like the whole thing -- medical marijuana," Kasich said. "It got passed because somebody was going to have a broader law."
Three state agencies are in the process of establishing a tightly regulated program to grow and sell medical marijuana in limited amounts.
Studies have shown marijuana can alleviate pain. The most recent study found hospitalization rates for painkiller addiction and abuse dropped 23% on average in states after they allowed medical marijuana use. Hospitalization rates for overdoses dropped 13%, according to the report published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
"I don't like the whole thing -- medical marijuana," Kasich said. "It got passed because somebody was going to have a broader law."
We are rehabbing the drug-addicted. 80% of the people in our prisons have addictions or problems. We now treat them in the prisons, release them in the community and the recidivism rate is 10% and the tsunami of drugs is threatening their very families. So we're treating them and getting them on their feet.
Jessica hates the drugs but not the abusers. Although she opposes any legalization of drugs, she thinks treatment, not jail, is the answer for most drug abusers. If people must be jailed, she thinks, they must receive treatment there.
She thinks more anti-drug education, starting at earlier ages, is needed in the schools. She warns students that marijuana is both addictive and a "gateway" to other drugs. She would like to see tougher laws against drunk driving. Based on her own life experience, she wants to see drug abuse treated more as a public health problem.
I have no doubt we will hear more of Jessica and her war on drugs.
The problem was that the system was overwhelmed and children were staying weeks, months, even years in hospitals before homes were found. "Boarder babies," they were called. Keeping them in hospitals like that was called "warehousing."
The city was using the most expensive means possible to care for the children: a foster home would cost a fraction of what hospital care cost. The pressure of lawsuits resulted in out-of-court settlements in which city and state officials agreed to accelerate the placement of children in foster homes. Soon, the city had made dramatic progress in reducing the time taken to place children--down to an average of three days, even for "at-risk" babies.
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2016 NORML scores as follows:
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law's mission is to move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty.
NORML is a nonprofit, public-interest lobby that for more than 30 years has provided a voice for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition. We represent the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly and believe the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana should no longer be a crime.
NORML supports the removal of all criminal penalties for the private possession & responsible use of marijuana by adults, including the cultivation for personal use, and the casual nonprofit transfers of small amounts. This model is called "decriminalization."
NORML additionally supports the development of a legally controlled market for marijuana, where consumers could purchase it from a safe, legal and regulated source. This model is referred to as "legalization."
NORML believes that marijuana smoking is not for kids and should only be used responsibly by adults. As with alcohol consumption, it must never be an excuse for misconduct or other bad behavior. Driving or operating heavy equipment while impaired from marijuana should be prohibited.
NORML strongly supports the right of patients to use marijuana as a medicine when their physician recommends it to relieve pain and suffering.
Lastly, NORML supports the right of farmers to commercially cultivate hemp for industrial purposes, such as food and fiber production.