COLUMBUS – The Yes on Issue 1 campaign released a digital ad today featuring former narcotics officer and current State Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, who talks about his first-hand experience dealing with people suffering from addiction and the need for more treatment in our communities.
“We are using a combination of earned and paid media to go directly to voters to get our message out that a Yes vote on Issue 1 means safer communities and more treatment,” said Dennis Willard, spokesperson for the Yes on Issue 1 campaign. More details about the campaign can be obtained at https://twitter.com/YesOnOneOH.
“Sen. Thomas speaks from his heart and from his experience on the streets as a narcotics officer. He knows we cannot arrest our way out of the growing opioid crisis in this state, and that’s why he supports a Yes vote on Issue 1,” Willard said.
To view the ad, click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdVAd1a1EJ0&feature=youtu.be
Here is the script for the ad:
“I was an undercover narcotics officer back in the ‘70s, and ‘80s, and ‘90s, and I came to the realization, and I said this quite often, we can not lock our way up out of this situation. We have to come up with a different strategy.
“One of the most difficult tasks that law enforcement has is addressing the low-level non-violent offender - the possessors, the users, those who are addicted. We find ourselves putting forth a tremendous amount of resources just to come to the aid of an individual that's overdosed, and we may have the same individual five, ten times or more. Law enforcement's role is to deal with serious crimes. But when we find ourselves spending a tremendous amount of daily activity responding to those issues, it just takes away from the overall effort of safety, taking police officers away from more serious opportunities to deal with crime.
“I support Issue 1 because as a former law enforcement officer of 27 years, I understand the impact that an addiction has on our entire community. I think that the most effective way to deal with this is to focus on the health and treat it as a health issue, and I support Issue 1 because that's exactly what it does.”
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Contact Yes on One OH:
Dennis Willard
545 E Town Street Columbus Oh. 43215
