Weed issue gets OK to appear on ballots next year
Voters in Kent will soon vote on an initiative that seeks to decriminalize minor marijuana possession in the city.
“Sensible Kent” is part of the Sensible Movement Coalition. Originally started in Toledo in 2015, the group advocates for removing jail time as well as reducing fines and court costs to zero for minor cannabis offenses.
In September, a petition circulated by the group and delivered to the Portage County Board of Elections fell four signatures short of the number needed to get on the ballot. Sensible Kent Campaign Manager Mike Fricke said he was told by the elections board that it would take another look at the signatures that were ruled invalid in November. “We won,” he simply said. Though the board invalidated 1,214 signatures, Fricke only sought to overturn the decision on four of those signatures. The board initially only considered 802 of the 2,016 total signatures submitted to be valid. Sensible Kent needed 806 for the issue to go before Kent voters.
The elections board recently revised the signature count to 815, Fricke said. The issue is anticipated to appear on the May 2021 ballot, but he said that may change.
Fricke said he does not believe the board would have corrected those signatures if he did not challenge the decision.
Fricke said his goal now is to reach out to university students and help them register to vote. Because Sensible Kent began at Kent State University in 2019, it makes sense for outreach happen there, he said.
Its original five applicants were students at the time. One of those five, now a KSU alumna, still serves the group in a leadership role.
After delaying the organization’s initial petition drive planned for 2020 because of COVID-19, activists in favor of Sensible Kent’s message met downtown in the spring to collect signatures.
The language of the proposed ordinance states that city statutes would read that no fines would apply to people caught in possession of less than 200 grams of marijuana, less than 10 grams of solid hashish, or less than 2 grams of liquid hashish. The illegal cultivation of marijuana would also not be fined if the amount involved is less than 200 grams.
Twenty grams or less of gifted marijuana is also defined as a minor misdemeanor drug abuse offense which, under the ordinance, would also not be fined. The sale of marijuana and hashish paraphernalia would also result in no fines. There would also be no court costs for all violations listed. Jail time is not listed as a penalty.
Theresa Nielsen, deputy director of the Portage County Board of Elections, said previously that about half of the original signatures that were ruled invalid were because those signing the petition were not registered to vote. Others, she said, were invalidated for reasons such as the signer not living in Kent, the addresses or signatures not matching the ones on file, being signed by people who lived outside Portage County, and duplicates.
Contact reporter Kaitlyn Mcgarvey with Kent news by email at kmcgarvey@recordpub.com or on Twitter at @kaitlynmcg_rc