The cannabis question came by way of a citizen-initiated statute. If passed by a simple majority of voters, the measure will add a section to the Ohio Revised Code which would outline how marijuana sales and consumption will be regulated in the state.
The campaign’s confirmation was held up after it came about 679 signatures short of the requisite statewide quota when it initially submitted its petition in July. Using the 10-day cure period afforded to petitioners, the campaign collected 4,405 valid signatures, including 626 in Montgomery County, to meet the quota.
“We are grateful to the thousands of Ohioans who helped us get to this point and are excited to bring our proposal to regulate marijuana like alcohol before Ohio voters this coming Election Day,” said Tom Haren, a spokesperson for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the group behind the proposal.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol runs JustLikeAlcohol.com. The group’s 40-page proposal would legalize marijuana cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sales to people age 21 and over. It would also legalize growing and cultivating marijuana plants at home for people 21 and over with a limit of six marijuana plants per person and 12 plants per household.
The measure also would create the Division of Cannabis Control within the Ohio Department of Commerce, which would broadly be responsible for regulations on the Ohio cannabis industry, including granting licensing and doling out necessary penalties.
It is rare for citizen-initiated statutes to get to this point in Ohio. If the marijuana statute passes this November, it would become just the fourth citizen-initiated statute to pass in state history. The last time was when Ohioans outlawed indoor smoking in 2006.
Ohio’s citizen-initiated statute law provides no protections or safe harbor for enacted citizen statutes, a fact that makes the marijuana statute’s future unclear, even if it passes this November. The Ohio General Assembly could amend or even rescind the law entirely if a simple majority of state legislators wanted to do so.
Recreational marijuana backers have long tried to use Ohio’s citizen-initiated petition process to legalize cannabis, either through amendment or through statute, but all have failed to this point.
Ohioans soundly denied the most serious attempt at recreational legalization back in 2015, when 63.4% of voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have created a marijuana cultivation monopoly for only 10 select growers in the state. That same election, Ohioans passed an anti-monopoly amendment, which barred amendments from being used to create special financial interests .
If marijuana measure passes:
- Measure would legalize recreational marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21.
- Adults over 21 would be allowed to grow and cultivate up to six marijuana plants themselves.
- This would be the fourth citizen-initiated statute to pass a statewide ballot initiative in Ohio history.
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