Issue One supporters say Oklahoma approved a similar reform

SANDUSKY — Supporters of Issue One, the ballot issue that would lower penalties for drug possession, point to similar ballot issues that were approved in Oklahoma two years ago.The ballot issues reduced felony convictions in Oklahoma, taking pressure off the prison system, and could have a similar effect in Ohio, supporters say.The Register looked at Oklahoma's drug laws and found the differences between the two states also are significant. In some ways, Oklahoma's drug laws remain more punitive than Ohio's, even after the approval of the reform questions.State Issue One, on the ballot Tuesday, seeks to amend the Ohio Constitution by sharply reducing penalties for possessing and using illegal drugs.For example, it states that possessing drugs such as fentanyl and LSD could only be punished as misdemeanors. It prohibits any jail time for such offenses unless it was the third such offense within 24 months.The proponents argue that Ohio spends millions of dollars to imprison drug addicts and the money spent on putting sick people behind bars would be better spent providing drug treatment.Policy Matters Ohio, an Ohio think tank that supports passage of Issue One, states the Ohio ballot issues mirrors two ballot issues passed in Oklahoma in 2016.Oklahoma's State Question 780 lowered the penalties for drug possession and property crime, changing them from felonies to misdemeanors. State Question 781 directed state officials to figure out how much money had been saved through lower incarceration rates and redirect that money to counties to provide more funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment.Crime rates have dropped in Oklahoma since the approval of the state question, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, which has penned an open letter urging Ohioans to support Issue One.Oklahoma, a socially conservative state, had very punitive drug laws until the approval of State Question 780.For instance, possession of heroin with intent to distribute formerly carried a penalty of two years to life, said Ryan Gentzler, director of Open Justice Oklahoma at the Oklahoma Policy Institute. When SQ 780 was approved, it lowered the penalty to up to seven years.But Oklahoma still remains more punitive than Ohio in some ways.Ohio decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana years ago. The violation essentially is treated the same way as a traffic ticket, with a citation, and the offender is not taken to jail.In Oklahoma, officers can still arrest people for misdemeanor marijuana possession and take them to jail. It's up to the officer's discretion, although officers now often "cite and release," said Fred Smith, district attorney for Comanche County in Oklahoma.Issue One apparently would end felony prosecutions for drug possession, even large amounts of hard drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, said Kevin Baxter, county prosecutor for Erie County. Felony possession of large amounts of drugs is an important weapon against drug dealers because it is easy to prove, Baxter said.Issue One, besides reducing all drug possession cases from felonies to misdemeanors, would mandate that no one can receive a jail sentence for possession until a third offense within 24 months. That would in many cases remove a prosecutor's ability to force people to get treatment, Baxter argues.Smith, the Oklahoma prosecutor, said he felt State Question 780 was not well understood by voters. For example, many Oklahoma voters did not realize that it made possession of small amounts of heroin only a misdemeanor, Smith said.But Smith said that even under Oklahoma's new drug laws, when someone is caught with 10 pounds of a hard drug, he can charge that person with felony drug possession with intent to distribute. Possession of that much of a drug is evidence on its face that the person is apparently a drug dealer, Smith said.Told that Ohio's law would reduce all possession cases to a misdemeanor, Smith responded, "People who deal in drugs will move to your state."Baxter, KevinFred Smith, the district attorney for Comanche County, Oklahoma.