Legal pot advocates say GOP trying to block ballot question

Advocates who want to legalize marijuana in Ohio say Republican legislative leaders are trying to keep the issue off the November ballot.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in Franklin County, members of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol claimed House Speaker Bob Cupp and Senate President Matt Huffman are trying to circumvent the initiated statute process and delay the ballot question until 2023. The group submitted voter signatures earlier this year to place its adult-use marijuana proposal before the Legislature.

The measure would allow Ohioans age 21 and older to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow plants at home. Products would be taxed at 10%, with revenue going toward administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, municipalities with dispensaries and a social equity and jobs program.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Republican leaders oppose recreational marijuana, and Huffman previously said he wouldn’t bring the proposal up for a vote. Some GOP lawmakers are instead focused on a bill that would expand Ohio’s medical cannabis program and hope those changes will dissuade stakeholders from funding the adult-use initiative.

Democrats in the House introduced legislation based on the petition earlier this month, but it’s unlikely to move forward.

At issue in Friday’s lawsuit is a dispute over the timeline for initiated statute petitions. State law requires petitioners to submit voter signatures in support of the measure at least 10 days before the start of a legislative session, which was Jan. 3 for this year. The group filed its petition on Dec. 21, court records show.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office determined on Jan. 3 that the group did not have the 132,887 valid signatures needed to move forward. Advocates gathered more signatures in the following days, and LaRose approved and sent the petition to state lawmakers on Jan. 28.

Lawmakers have four months to act on initiated statutes, which would mean a May 28 deadline for the marijuana proposal. But legal counsel for GOP leaders argued the group’s petition needed to be approved — not just submitted — ahead of the 2022 legislative session and therefore can’t be considered this year.

An attorney with Attorney General Dave Yost’s office appeared to agree with that assessment, according to emails filed with the lawsuit.

Advocates contend LaRose’s Jan. 28 transmission was valid and want a judge to allow the process to continue this year.