Ohio cannabis legalization vote postponed to 2023

Cannabis activists in Ohio have reached an agreement to postpone a vote on legalizing recreational cannabis until next year, ending a controversy over a deadline to collect signatures from voters supporting the proposal. Under the terms of the agreement reached with state officials on Friday, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will keep the more than 140,000 signatures collected for this year’s effort and avoid having to repeat the process for the 2023 election.

“This guarantees the validity of the signatures we’ve already collected and gives us a much clearer path when we have to come to the vote next year,” said Tom Haren, a spokesman for the coalition.

The group, which wants to legalize cannabis for adult use in Ohio, sued Republican lawmakers earlier this month after they refused to consider a proposal to legalize recreational cannabis signed by more than 140,000 voters. The agreement reached between state officials and activists last week will delay a vote on the proposal until next year.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol proposal would allow adults age 21 and older in Ohio to possess and purchase up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrates. Adults would also be legally allowed to grow up to six cannabis plants at home, with a cap of 12 plants per household.

The measure would also introduce a 10% tax on the sale of cannabis products. Cannabis tax revenue would be allocated to program administration and local governments in cities and towns that choose to host recreational cannabis dispensaries. Taxes would also be used to fund substance abuse programs and a social justice and jobs program.

Ohio Activists submitted more than 140,000 signatures

In December, the coalition submitted petitions with more than 200,000 signatures, far more than the 132,887 needed to send the proposal to the state legislature for consideration. But in January, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office announced that fewer than 120,000 of the signatures had been verified as registered voters.

Activists then submitted nearly 30,000 additional signatures to state officials for verification. According to a letter LaRose sent out in late January, the added signatures were enough to meet the minimum threshold required.

“The first partial motions contained 119,825 valid signatures on behalf of the proposed statewide initiative of total signatures submitted, signatures were submitted from 51 counties, equaling or exceeding 1.5% of the total number of votes cast for governor in each county last gubernatorial election.” , Larose wrote in a letter posted online by Northeast Ohio Media Group.

“The additional partial motions included 16,904 valid signatures on behalf of the proposed nationwide initiative,” the Secretary of State continued in his letter. “I hereby certify that the partial petitions contained a total of 136,729 valid signatures submitted on behalf of the proposed nationwide initiative.”

Ohio state law requires petitioners for proposed ballot measures to submit their signatures at least 10 days before the beginning of the legislative session. Lawmakers then have four months to respond to the proposal. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol turned in its signatures Jan. 28, which would set a May 28 deadline for lawmakers to respond to the petition.

Legalization efforts by GOP leaders questioned

However, attorneys for the Republican state legislature argued that the petition should have been filed and approved 10 days before legislation began. In this scenario, legalization activists missed the deadline, leading GOP lawmakers to argue that the petition should not be considered until 2023. According to emails filed with the campaign’s lawsuit, filed in Franklin County, Attorney General Dave Yost’s office appeared to agree with Republican counsel’s analysis.

Activists in the cannabis legalization campaign sued Republican leaders, claiming that submitting signatures to LaRose’s office on Jan. 28 met the legal deadline for the legalization application. The lawsuit asked the court to rule that the campaign conformed to process and allow cannabis legalization efforts to continue this year. If the lawsuit had been successful, activists would have had until early July to collect more signatures to qualify the proposal for this year’s general election in November.

The agreement reached last week ends the controversy over the deadline for submitting signatures and pushes back the vote to legalize recreational cannabis in Ohio to 2023.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which preserved our original signatures, gave the General Assembly a second opportunity to consider the proposed statute, and established a clear path to access the 2023 election,” Haren said in an explanation of the campaign. “To be sure, we’re not going anywhere and remain committed to our goal of legalizing cannabis for all adults in Ohio.”