BY BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE and SANDY THEIS
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- Republican Bob Taft announced Monday that his wife would lead a crusade against drug abuse if he is elected governor, but the couple soon found themselves ensnared in the debate about medical use of marijuana.
Staged at a Columbus drug treatment center, Mr. Taft's announcement began a marathon of campaigning throughout the state as he and Democrat Lee Fisher try to motivate party loyalists and win over undecided voters before next Tuesday's election.
It appears many of those voters might stay home. State elections officials predict about 50 percent of registered voters will show up at the polls, the lowest rate in years for a statewide election. Taking a break from negative attacks that have dominated the campaign, Mr. Taft called for $11 million to combat drug abuse, including funding "drug courts" that direct non-violent offenders into treatment instead of prison.
"The costs of drug and alcohol abuse continue to be staggering," said Mr. Taft, who noted that 70 percent of all crimes are connected to drug use.
Mr. Fisher, meanwhile, called for drug testing of prisoners incarcerated for drug-related offenses, even after their release. During an impromptu stop to buy pie and pass out campaign literature at the Leaf Restaurant in Mount Gilead, Mr. Fisher said he used the state's nuisance abatement law to shut down crack cocaine houses while serving as state attorney general from 1991-95.
"I am the only candidate who actually has a record on fighting drugs," Mr. Fisher said.
Hope Taft also injected a partisan tone into the debate, lamenting increased marijuana use among teen-agers and accusing President Clinton of fostering "mixed messages" about drug use.
The candidates were rendered speechless when asked by reporters about their respective positions on the medical use of pot, which voters legalized in California and Arizona two years ago. Mr. Fisher said he didn't have one. Mr. Taft deferred to his wife.
"There is no medical organization that claims that smoking marijuana is effective," said Mrs. Taft, who heads the Governor's Council for the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. "Until that happens, I don't think we should encourage people to self-medicate."
Marijuana is "more carcinogenic than tobacco" and hasn't been evaluated like other drugs sanctioned by the federal Food and Drug Administration, she said.
At the same time, Mr. Taft said he would not encourage authorities to prosecute Ohioans who smoke pot for medical uses.
"Those people are people in pain," he said. "The way to deal with that is you deal with the people who are selling it."
While pot is considered an illegal drug in Ohio, the Republican-controlled General Assembly approved a law in 1995 that provided a medical defense for possession.
Gutting the law was a top priority for Gov. George Voinovich and legislative leaders last year. They insisted they didn't know the law was part of a 1,000-page measure that revamped the state's criminal sentencing code.
As the campaign for governor draws down to its last tense and frenetic days, Mr. Taft started the week with good news.
Opinion polls published over the weekend show he continues to lead Mr. Fisher by 8 to 10 percentage points. The Cincinnati native also picked up endorsements from Mr. Fisher's hometown newspaper -- the Cleveland Plain Dealer -- and from The Cincinnati Enquirer and the Dayton Daily News.
However, those same polls showed that support for both men has dropped, while a third of the electorate is undecided.
Although he was visibly buoyed by the survey numbers, Mr. Taft insisted he "doesn't put a lot of faith in polls."
Mr. Fisher sought to offset Mr. Taft's endorsements by appearing on the steps of Cleveland City Hall with Mayor Michael White and other Democratic leaders in Cuyahoga County. To win statewide, conventional wisdom holds that a Democrat must carry the county by at least 100,000 votes.
Every major Ohio newspaper endorsed Republican-authored cuts in benefits for injured workers in November, Mr. Fisher noted, but voters soundly defeated the proposal, known as state Issue 2.
"When you are standing up for working men and women and you are standing up against large insurance companies and you are for a property tax cut for homeowners, that increases the likelihood you are not going to get the endorsement of major newspapers in Ohio," he said.
Vowing that this governor's race could be the closest in state history, Mr. Fisher accused Mr. Taft of trying to suppress voter turnout with negative campaign tactics.
"The Taft campaign has tried to confuse, mislead, distort and worst of all simply not tell the truth," Mr. Fisher said.
After telling Bowling Green State University students last week that his campaign pulled all its negative ads off the air, Mr. Taft said he was forced to air another "comparative" ad because Mr. Fisher has a reputation of running tough and negative campaigns.
"If I just let him blast us night after night, all the evidence suggests we won't win the race," Mr. Taft said.
