Ohio activists say they have submitted more than enough signatures to qualify a marijuana-legalization initiative on the November ballot in their state.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, after the legislature refused to enact this reform within a court-imposed time frame this session turned in more than 220,000 signed petitions to the Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday to bring the issue to voters later this year.
The second set of signatures has been submitted by activists to the state to qualify the measure. The first round of signatures triggered a four month legislative review period, during which lawmakers could have taken action on the issue. But they did not. This allowed the campaign to start collecting the second half petitions needed to qualify for the ballot. The last batch must contain at least 124,000 valid signatures of registered voters.
The campaign believes they have met this requirement based on the number of signatures received and the results from internal verification.
The legalization initiative was originally intended to be on the ballot for last year, but procedural issues prevented this. The activists submitted enough signatures for the review to begin, but their timing was challenged.
Ohio Secretary of state’s Office received 254 petition boxes from supporters of a proposed bill to regulate marijuana as alcohol. They’re submitting over 222k signatures, even though they only need 124k to qualify for the ballot. pic.twitter.com/TAsnuiYMus
Karen Kasler July 5, 2019 HTML0
CTRMLA sued to force ballot placement but was unsuccessful in 2022. The state agreed to a settlement which meant that they wouldn’t have to collect the initial signatures again, and that the initiative was immediately retransmitted by the legislature to begin the 2023 session.
In a press statement, campaign spokesperson Tom Haren stated that he was “thrilled” to have reached the milestone. This is a testimony to the hardwork of our campaign, and the support from Ohio voters who want common sense marijuana reform.
In an interview with Marijuana Moment on Friday, he said that CTRMLA would move forward once the state certified the initiative and launch a “targeted outreach effort to voters” in order to increase voter awareness.
Haren stated that “we will reach the people we need to.”
These are the main provisions of the legalization ballot question that could appear on the ballot in November:
- This initiative will allow adults over 21 to possess up to 2.5 ounces (or 15 grams) of marijuana. They can also have marijuana concentrates up to 15 gram.
- Each individual could grow six plants to use for their own personal needs, and a maximum of 12 plants in a household.
- The 10 percent tax on cannabis sales would go to fund social equity and job programs (36%), localities who allow adult-use marijuana businesses to operate in their areas (36%), education and drug misuse programs (25%), and administrative costs for implementing the system (3%).
- The Department of Commerce would establish a Division of Cannabis Control. The division would be able to “license and regulate adult-use cannabis operators, adult-use testing laboratories, as well as individuals who are required to have a license.”
- This measure will give current medical cannabis businesses an advantage in the recreational cannabis market. Within nine months after the law’s enactment, regulators would have to start issuing adult use licenses to applicants who are qualified and operate medical cannabis operations.
- The division will also have to issue 50 adult-use retail licenses, and 40 recreational cultivator licences. This is “with preference given to applicants who are participating in the cannabis social equality and jobs program.” It would also authorize regulators to grant additional licenses for recreational market after two years.
- Municipalities could opt not to allow new recreational cannabis businesses to open in their region, but existing medical marijuana companies would still be allowed to operate in the same area. Employers can also enforce policies that prohibit workers from using cannabis for adult purposes.
- The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services would also be required to enter into an agreement to provide “cannabis-addiction services” which would include “education and treatment of individuals with addiction issues to cannabis or to other controlled substances, including opioids”.
- Some advocates worry about the lack specific language regarding automatic expungements, which would clear the records for people who have convictions from crimes that would become legal under the new legislation. The measure includes a clause requiring regulators “to study and fund” criminal reform initiatives, including expungements.
A Spectrum News/Siena College Research Institute survey, released in late 2014, found that 60% of Ohioans supported legalizing cannabis. However the poll did not ask about the specifics of the ballot proposal. A previous poll showed that Ohio voters supported marijuana legalization on the ballot.
In the meantime, bipartisan Ohio legislators have filed a bill to legalize marijuana in the last month . This gives the legislature a second chance to lead the reform. It has not yet advanced, but now it is up to the voters to decide.
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Reps. Jamie Callender and Casey Weinstein introduced the Ohio Adult Use Act. The act combined and refined previous legalization proposals, which the lawmakers pursued on a separate political basis last session.
Callender, who had sponsored a separate law to tax and regulate marijuana for 2021, had previously cast doubts about the prospects of reforming the legislation, indicating that he believed it would be up to the voters to decide the issue given the recalcitrance on the part of the legislature.
Ohioans made it clear during recent elections that they are ready for a change in policy. More than 30 localities in Ohio have decriminalized marijuana through local ballots.
This time, the trucks are full of boxes for a proposed law to legalize marijuana recreationally in Ohio.
If certified, this would be on the November ballot, but it IS NOT a constitution amendment. This means that Issue 1 would not affect it. pic.twitter.com/sklLFt5XET
Haley BeMiller July 5, 2020 HTML0
In November last year, for instance, voters in five other cities passed local marijuana decriminalization initiatives. voters in Helena also enacted reform during the primary election held last month.
The conservative legislature is considering major changes to the medical cannabis program in this session, even though they may have missed the deadline to pass legislation on adult-use marijuana.
Also, Gov. Mike DeWine , a Republican, signed in January a criminal justice reform law that allows cities to facilitate mass expungements of people with drug-related convictions. This includes marijuana possession up to 200 grams.
The mayor of Cleveland announced in April, after the law became effective, that the city would be moving ahead with plans for sealing thousands of cannabis records.
Maryland Marijuana Sales Topped $10 Million During Opening Weekend Of Adult-Use Market, State Reports
The article Ohio activists turn in signatures to put marijuana legalization on November ballot first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
