Colorado Officer Warns About Legalizing Marijuana

DAYTON -  Before you vote on whether to legalize marijuana this November, learn more about how the issue could impact your safety from the people who patrol the streets where pot is now legal.

In exactly two months voters will  decide whether pot should be legal in Dayton and all around Ohio.

A drug investigator from Colorado spoke at Sinclair Community College September 3, 2015  about what his state has gone through since legalizing medical marijuana in 2001 and recreational marijuana two years ago.

Marijuana, reefer, pot, weed. whatever you call it, could soon be legal in Ohio for medical and recreational use.

"There's a sales job happening in Ohio and it's the same sales job we got in Colorado.  There were a lot of promises of miracle and tax revenues, all kinds of wonderful things that were going to happen.  What we're seeing is a public health and public safety disaster," said Jim Gerhardt.

Gerhardt warned Ohioans not to go down the same road as his state.

 "It 's created a lot of problems but it hasn't solved anything," said Gerhardt.

"Accidents, impaired drivers,  children being hospitalized, mental health problems and violent  behavior,  those types of things," he said.

Gerhardt told 200  social service and  business leaders the tremendous impact  the drug can have on communities.

"And it will be extremely potent here,  this isn't the marijuana of the 60s and 70s," said Gerhardt.

Montgomery County's Alcohol Drug and Mental Health Service brought Gerhardt  to town to  talk about his experiences.

"If you give people the right information, then it's their choice but we want people to have real facts, facts as opposed to innuendo and myths," said Helen Jones-Kelley.  She's the executive director of the Alcohol Drug and Mental Health Service of Montgomery County.

"It's going to create a lot more jobs and it's going to help the economy a little bit. So me personally, I think it should pass," said Naman Clark, a Sinclair student.

"I think it's something that would be great for medical use.  I think recreationaly  it just kind of depends on the person you are. If that's something you can handle and don't have an addictive personality," said Chad Roberts, another Sinclair student.

"We're playing around here with something we know very little about and in Colorado we're playing a big price for that," said Gerhardt.

Voters  go to the polls  November 3rd and will sat yay or nay on Issue 3.

If it passes, medical marijuana users will need a doctor's note.

Recreational users could  have up to one ounce at a time..

Growers at home could have four marijuana plants at a time.