“Together we made sure that the insane reality of criminalizing poor people and people with addiction and mental illness was in the conversation and challenged,” said Demareo Cooper of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative in a letter to supporters. “We refused to allow this year’s election to ignore the crisis of addiction and mental illness faced by thousands of Ohioans.”

“We always knew that, win or lose, the Yes on Issue 1 campaign is the beginning, not the end,” said Dennis Willard, spokesperson for the Yes on Issue 1 campaign. “Our opponents may celebrate tonight, but tomorrow they will wake up with the same crisis on their hands, and not one step closer to real solutions.”

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