Mom of ill child, Montel Williams urge votes on Issue 3 for medical marijuana

TV personality Montel Williams spoke in support of Ohio's Issue 3, which would legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use. (Jackie Borchardt/Northeast Ohio Media Group)

By Jackie Borchardt, 

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Nicole Scholten has changed her mind about Issue 3 and said Wednesday she will be voting "yes" on the marijuana legalization measure.
The Cincinnati mom still has concerns about how the proposed constitutional amendment will provide medical marijuana for her daughter, other children who suffer from seizure disorders, and other patients.

Those concerns kept her from endorsing the measure earlier this year, despite her pleas for lawmakers to legalize cannabis, which she believes will help her daughter and other families like hers.

But state lawmakers don't appear to be moving toward legalization in the near future and Scholten said she sees ways to work within Issue 3's framework to help patients obtain the marijuana they need.

"Right now parents like me and families like mine have the choices of waiting patiently for authority figures to tell us it's OK to legally treat our children or uproot our fragile families to a legal state," Scholten said. "Why are they uprooting their very fragile families to places like Michigan and Colorado and Oregon? Because medical cannabis actually works."

Issue 3 would legalize recreational and medical marijuana for adults age 21 and older and minor medical patients under the guidance of a physician and parent. Commercial marijuana could only be grown at 10 sites specified in the amendment, which belong to investors bankrolling the initiative. Ohio adults could grow up to four flowering plants in a secure, enclosed location at home after obtaining a $50 homegrow license.

Jen Detwiler, spokeswoman for anti-Issue 3 group Ohioans Against Marijuana Monopolies, said Issue 3 was drafted to benefit the investors who will own the growing sites and has little to do with medical marijuana patients.

"Issue 3 is the wrong language to get them what they're looking for," Detwiler said. "It's a flawed program that does not have their best interests in mind."

Scholten and 11-year-old Lucy Scholten appeared at a news conference here Wednesday morning alongside TV celebrity Montel Williams. Williams said he's consumed marijuana to alleviate multiple sclerosis symptoms for the past 14 years.

Williams said it's hypocritical for lawmakers and elected officials to oppose marijuana legalization when the federal government has sponsored a medical program for decades, and many of the medications that are approved by the federal government, such as oxycodone, are abused and can have severe side effects.

"Some of those [drugs] are needed by patients, but for me they didn't work," Williams said. "I took them long enough that they almost shut down my kidneys. I've damaged the peristalsis reaction in my intestines for life -- the rest of my life."

Williams said many speaking against Issue 3, including local mental health board officials, are not informed about how cannabis can be used medically.

A ResponsibleOhio spokeswoman said Williams is not among the campaign's investors nor does he have a financial stake in the measure's passage.

Recent polls show Ohioans overwhelmingly favor legalizing medical marijuana -- 9 to 1 in one poll -- even though many physicians and medical professionals say the research doesn't support legalization.

Williams said New York only has five growing sites for its medical marijuana program and Missouri will only have 10 if a measure passes there next year.

"What are we whining about? Are the people whining because they won't have access to make money? If that's what this conversation is about, let's stop for a minute and get a grip. This little girl doesn't give a damn about anybody's money," Williams said.

Williams said Ohioans should vote for Issue 3 and "fix" problems with it later.

Detwiler said there is no fixing Issue 3.
"It's a flawed, long, rigid constitutional amendment that can't be fixed by policy makers," Detwiler said. "Voters know that the bad in Issue 3 outweighs any good."