Opinion: Issue 3 wants back on the ballot with revisions, let’s keep it simple this time

Backers of Issue 3 have the desire to return to the Ohio ballot once more. Executive Director of ResponsibleOhio Ian James detailed where things went wrong in the election in a column for The Athens News. In the column, James said, “We trusted the voters throughout the process, and we maintain our trust in the voters today. They have made clear that we made two big mistakes – by self-selecting limited grow-site opportunities and making Buddie the face of the campaign.”Hats off to James for making it clear what the mistakes were for the campaign, since they were clearly obvious to Ohio voters. In regards to the first mistake, James discussed how monopolizing marijuana was a terrible decision. Ohioans will not stand by and allow a group of individuals to hold all of the cannabis capital. That is, of course, why they passed Issue 2 to limit monopolies in the state.James and ResponsibleOhio are not terrible people; they just went about the measure for cannabis legalization wrong. James points out in his column that “nine out of 10 Ohioans support the legalization of medical marijuana, and nearly six of ten of Ohioans support the legalization of adult, personal use of marijuana.” I am unsure of where he found these statistics, but they seem accurate. Many Ohioans were not against Issue 3 for the aspect of legalization of pot. They were against it for it’s monopoly factor.Ohioans want marijuana on the ballot as a straight, clear-cut issue. That is the type of issue that should be introduced. The only down side to ResponsibleOhio sponsoring another ballot initiative is that Ohioans have a bitter association with the previous attempt. I fear that if the group sponsors a clear-cut issue in the future, individuals will vote no as they did on Issue 3.My colleague Kaleb Carter explained in his featured blog a few weeks ago that it is time to move on from Issue 3; I would agree. It is time for a straightforward issue. There should be two issues on the ballot the next time around; yes or no on medical legalization of marijuana and yes or no on recreational use. Cut the gimmicks and the big business hoopla.Ohioans need to protect individuals from silly crimes such as marijuana usage and distribution that ruin lives and shelter inmates like farm animals. If ResponsibleOhio wants to come back to the plate they need to make it simple. They need to follow a United States Navy acronym that originated in the 1960s: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid.)