WILMINGTON — Wilmington AM Rotary, which meets Fridays at 7 a.m. at the General Denver, hosted Police Chief Duane Weyand.
Weyand discussed the proposed constitutional amendment, Ohio Issue 1 on the November ballot, and said it would make most drug possession crimes a misdemeanor, restrict courts’ local ability to exercise any discretion, and ultimately push all the cost of housing offenders back on the community.
He said this proposed amendment would make it possible to possess 19 grams of fentanyl, enough to kill 10,000 people, and have absolutely no chance of jail. Reducing the charges reduces the resources that police and the court system have to help the offenders.
Weyand expressed his opposition for the passing of this amendment, citing public safety and cost to the community. He also said that a majority of the funding behind the issue, $4 million, has come from out-of-state special interest groups.
