Marijuana petition short on signers
Supporters of a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio came up short on signatures and have 10 days to collect enough to make the ballot in November.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol collected 123,367 valid signatures, Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office announced Tuesday − just 679 signatures short of the required 124,046. The group turned in 222,233 signatures earlier this month, but election officials had to verify the petitions and tossed signatures that weren’t valid.
That can happen if a person moved from the address provided or isn’t registered to vote.
Advocates have been working for over a year to put their proposal before voters as GOP leaders in the General Assembly refuse to entertain an adult-use program. Ohio legalized medical marijuana in 2016.
“It looks like we came up a little short in this first phase, but now we have 10 days to find just 679 voters to sign a supplemental petition – this is going to be easy, because a majority of Ohioans support our proposal to regulate and tax adult-use marijuana,” said Tom Haren, a spokesman for the coalition. “We look forward to giving Ohio voters a chance to make their voices heard this November.”
Petitioners also had to get signatures from 1.5% of voters in the last gubernatorial election in 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The coalition cleared that hurdle, hitting the required mark in 49 counties.
What would the marijuana proposal do?
The proposed marijuana law would allow Ohioans age 21 and older to buy and possess 2.5 ounces of cannabis and 15 grams of concentrates.
They could also grow up to six plants individually and no more than 12 in a household with multiple adults.
Products would be taxed 10%, with revenue going toward administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, municipalities with dispensaries and a social equity and jobs program.
A certain number of cultivator and dispensary licenses would be reserved for participants in that program, which aims to help those who are disproportionately affected by the enforcement of current marijuana laws.
The coalition’s proposal is an initiated statute, which means it wouldn’t be affected by the August ballot question to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments.
Issue 1 would also eliminate the 10day cure period that’s giving marijuana advocates a second chance to get on the Nov. 7 ballot.