The 2018 Ohio Neighborhood Safety, Drug Treatment, and Rehabilitation Amendment is a ballot initiative aiming to change Ohio’s constitution to achieve four goals:
(1) change drug possession felonies to misdemeanors,
(2) prohibit prison sentences for technical probation violations,
(3) expand the ability to earn up to 25% off a prison sentence through rehabilitative programming, and
(4) redirect funds saved from reduced incarceration to drug treatment and victims’ services.
Although it is easier to amend a state constitution than the federal, this definitely sounds like something that should be done by legislation and the court system, not by changing the constitution, especially the part that goes around prison sentencing, and part 3 about reducing the sentence with rehab programing. What an invitation for a cottage industry of poorly thought out programs, millions in grant money to be frittered away.
I attended the programming this summer at Lakeside (and read Quinones’ book, Dreamland: True Tale of America’s Opioid Epidemic) on the drug problems in Ohio. In the 70s and 80s we were active in a prison reform group and a teen rehabilitation program. I can see nothing in this proposed amendment that actually speaks to the problem of improper sentencing, nor which will reduce or redirect funding or reduce deaths.
https://ballotpedia.org/Amending_state_constitutions
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/constitution-amend-with-care.aspx
https://www.lsc.ohio.gov/documents/reference/current/guidebook/chapter1.pdf
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