While Ohio marijuana reformers await the final certification of signatures to put a legalization proposal on the November ballot they hope to pass, a vote unrelated during Tuesday’s special elections in the state is seen as a bellwether.
The overwhelming majority of voters turned out to vote against Issue 1 on February 2. The GOP-backed proposal would have increased the threshold for constitutional amendments to be approved at the ballot, from a simple majoritiy to 60%. This could have undermined a measure on abortion rights that voters may decide in November along with the marijuana legalization measure.
It is significant that Issue 1 has been rejected with such a large margin (43 to 57 percent). It is usually the most loyal voters (older folks and conservatives), who show up for special elections in non-presidential year. Progressive voters are motivated to vote because reproductive rights have been threatened by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last year that reversed Roe v. Wade.
If the Secretary of State’s Office certifies the initiative, it will be beneficial to the legalization campaign in Ohio. There’s a general belief that placing cannabis reform on the ballot will increase turnout. This is especially true for Democrats. The combination of abortion rights and cannabis reform could prove particularly potent for November’s turnout.
Justin Strekal, founder of BOWL PAC, told Marijuana Moment that the Ohio voters resoundingly demanded that their will and perspective, in the case of the initiative’s passage, be respected. This bodes well for the campaign to pass the marijuana statutory initiatives, as the legislature is unlikely to dismantle them.
Disclosure: Strekal is a monthly pledger on Patreon to support Marijuana Moment.
As past elections in other states have shown, the cannabis measure may drive voter turnout if it is approved.
In a survey conducted in Maryland, 61 percent said they would be more likely to vote if they knew that the legalization issue was on the ballot . These groups accounted for 13 percent of those polled.
A 2018 survey found that 56 percent of Wisconsin voters were more likely to vote in their local elections if they had a referendum on the ballot asking about their support for the legalization.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol (CTRMLA), which is behind the legalization campaign in Ohio, submitted a final batch to Secretary of State’s Office last week, after failing to collect several hundred valid signatures during an initial review of approximately 220,000 signatures last month. This was the second large batch that the Coalition turned in to Ohio.
The first round of petitions, submitted in the past year, would have triggered a four month legislative review period, during which lawmakers could have taken action on the issue. But they did not, and the campaign was able to collect the second half needed to qualify for the ballot.
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 questioned.
CTRMLA sued to force ballot placement but it was unsuccessful for the 2022 elections. The state agreed to a settlement which meant that they wouldn’t have to collect another round of signatures and that the initiative was immediately re-transmitted to lawmakers at the beginning of the 2023 session.
These are the main provisions of the measure for legalization 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 cannabis. They can also have marijuana concentrates up to that amount.
- 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 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”.
- 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 related either 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.
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If this measure is passed, the number of states that have legalized adult use will reach 24.
In a USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University survey published in July, it was found that about 59 percent (59%) of Ohioans supported the legalization of possession and sale of marijuana by adults over 21. Only 35 percent of respondents are against.
In May bipartisan Ohio legislators submitted a bill legalizing marijuana, giving the legislature a second chance to lead the reform. It has not yet advanced, but now it is up to the voters to decide.
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 doubt on the prospects of a legislative reform. He indicated that he believed the issue would be decided ultimately by the voters due to the recalcitrance shown by 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.
In November of last year, voters in five other cities also approved local marijuana decriminalization initiatives. voters in Helena also enacted reform during the May primary election.
The conservative legislature may have passed on the opportunity to legalize adult-use marijuana, but it considered major changes to the state’s Medical Cannabis Program during this session.
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.
New York Regulators announce that the first marijuana farmers market will open this week.
Photo by Philip Steffan.
The post Ohio Abortion Right Ballot Victory is A Positive Signal for Marijuana Legalization in November first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
