Ohio Legalization Campaign submits additional signatures to qualify for voting

Supporters of a proposed ballot measure to legalize adult-use cannabis in Ohio last week submitted petitions with more than 6,500 additional signatures from voters who would like to see the proposal appear on the ballot in this year’s general election. The supplemental signatures were collected and presented Thursday by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, after the group’s original submission last month fell just short of the threshold that would trigger a vote on the proposal.

“This post confirms what we’ve been saying all along: Marijuana regulation is popular in Ohio,” campaign spokesman Thomas Haren said in a statement to The Columbus Dispatch Aug. 3. “We look forward to giving Ohio voters a chance to have their say.” Their voices were heard in voting this fall.”

The collection of signatures originally failed

The coalition submitted more than 222,000 signatures to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in early July, far exceeding the 124,046 needed for the initiative to qualify for voting in the November 2023 general election. But three weeks later, LaRose revealed that the campaign had collected just over 123,000 verified signatures, adding that the results of the signature verification and table “suggested that the petitioners did not submit enough valid signatures.” He also pointed out that the campaign would have 10 days to collect and submit the additional signatures needed to reach the goal.

“In order to submit a sufficient number of valid signatures, petitioners need an additional 679 valid signatures not found on the original or previous supplemental petitions,” LaRose wrote in a July 25 statement.

Following the Foreign Secretary’s announcement, the Legalization Campaign issued a statement acknowledging the group’s shortfall and saying it would be “easy” to make up the difference to meet the signature target.

“It looks like we fell a bit short in this first phase, but now we have 10 days to find just 679 voters to sign a supplemental petition — that’ll be easy because a majority of Ohioans.” supports our proposal to regulate control adult-use marijuana,” Haren said in a statement to The Columbus Dispatch. “We look forward to giving Ohio voters a chance to make their voices heard in November.”

The group continued to collect signatures from voters across the state of Ohio, using social media platforms like Reddit to publicize signature collections. Last week, the campaign submitted an additional 6,545 signatures a day before the 10-day deadline.

The supplementary petitions will now be delivered to the district election committees, where signature verification will take place over a period of eight days. The results of the electoral committees are then reviewed by LaRose and it is announced whether the campaign received enough signatures to qualify for voting. On Thursday, the coalition said legalizing marijuana would benefit the community.

“It works, generates hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue each year, and ensures consumers have an alternative to the illicit market where they can buy products they know are free of illicit substances,” Haren said .

Proposed voting measure would legalize adult-use cannabis

If passed, the proposed ballot initiative would legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio for adults 21 and older, who would be permitted possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrate. The proposal also legalizes marijuana cultivation for personal use, with adults allowed to grow up to six cannabis plants. Households with more than one adult are allowed to grow a total of 12 plants.

Commercial production and sale of cannabis products would be regulated by a new state agency called the Division of Cannabis Control, which would have the power to “license, regulate, and investigate adult cannabis operators, testing laboratories for adult use and individuals.” and to punish”. Licensed.” A 10% tax would be levied on cannabis products, earmarked for administrative costs of regulation, substance abuse treatment programs, and a social justice and jobs program. Local governments with licensed recreational marijuana dispensaries would also get a share of the cannabis tax revenue. Under the proposal’s social justice program, some cannabis cultivation and dispensing licenses would be reserved for individuals from communities that have faced disproportionate enforcement of Ohio’s current marijuana laws.

“We propose to regulate marijuana for adult use just like we do for alcohol,” Haren said in a press release when the campaign was launched nearly two years ago. “Our proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children and benefiting all.”

Ohio legalized medical marijuana in 2016 through a bill passed by the state legislature that led to the opening of the state’s first regulated cannabis dispensaries in 2019. In 2015, an earlier proposal to legalize cannabis for adult use was successful in the vote, but the measure was defeated by more than 65% of the state’s voters.