Ohio Advocates Submit Additional Signatures for Cannabis Proposal

Activists in Ohio last week submitted nearly 30,000 additional signatures to get a proposal to legalize marijuana before state legislatures.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that the group, known as the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, “issued an additional 29,918 signatures to Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Thursday” “after falling short earlier this month.”

The coalition submitted a total of 206,943 signatures late last month in a petition campaign for the legalization proposal to be brought to lawmakers.

If the proposal were to go through, Ohioans age 21 and older would be able to legally purchase and own up to 2.5 ounces of weed. Activists need to get 132,887 signatures from Ohio voters in at least 44 counties for the proposal to go through legislature consideration. The legislature then has a maximum of four months to react to the draft law.

The coalition to regulate marijuana like alcohol suffered a setback earlier this month when LaRose’s office said only 119,825 of the more than 200,000 signatures were valid — well below the threshold.

Now, with nearly 30,000 additional signatures submitted, the coalition hopes the legalization measure will finally reach the Columbus House of Representatives.

According to Dispatch, supporters can “collect an additional 132,887 valid signatures to put the measure on the November vote” if lawmakers “do not pass the law or pass an amended version within the four-month timeframe.”

In addition to allowing eligible adults to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, the new proposal would also allow up to “15 grams of concentrates,” along with “up to six plants individually and no more than 12 in a household with several adults,” according to the dispatch.

The newspaper reported that under the proposal, cannabis products “would be taxed at 10 percent, with proceeds going to administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, dispensary communities and a social justice and jobs program.”

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol launched its campaign in earnest in July.

“We propose to regulate marijuana for adult use just as we do for alcohol. Our proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children and benefiting all,” coalition spokesman Tom Haren said in a press release at the time of the campaign launch.

“Ohioans want that,” he added. “They see marijuana legalization as inevitable. They want our leaders to seize the opportunity and take control of our future. Marijuana legalization is an issue whose time has come in Ohio. Nineteen states went before Ohio, and we crafted laws based on the best practices learned from those before us.”

In the announcement, however, Haren noted that lawmakers did not have to wait for the petitions to be reviewed, saying the group is “ready to work with the General Assembly on meaningful reform now, and it is our sincere hope that we work together on that.” will be a reasonable solution.”

While recreational cannabis is not yet legal in Buckeye state, Ohio has had a medical cannabis program since 2016. Last month, the state legislature passed legislation that would result in some of the biggest changes to the program since its inception.

Most importantly, the bill would allow licensed physicians to “recommend marijuana for the treatment of any medical condition if the physician determines, in the sole discretion and medical opinion of the physician, one of the following results” “that it can reasonably be expected to alleviate the patient’s symptoms.” from medical marijuana” and “that the patient can otherwise reasonably expect to benefit from medical marijuana”.