Ohio Advocates Launch Cannabis Legalization Push

Advocates in Ohio have submitted summary language of a ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adults to the state attorney general’s office—the first step toward enacting the reforms. The group will need to first collect more than 130,000 signatures and, if successful, the legislation will be sent to state lawmakers who will have four months to consider the bill. If they decline to pass the measure, the group can collect another 130,000 signatures to put the issue to voters on 2022 ballots.

The measure would allow use and possession by adults 21-and-older, allow cultivation of six plants per person and 12 per household, and sales by licensed retailers taxed at 10%.

Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Spokesman Tom Haren said the “proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone.”

“Ohioans want this. They see marijuana legalization as inevitable. They want our leaders to seize the opportunity and take control of our future. Marijuana legalization is an issue whose time has come in Ohio. Nineteen states have gone before Ohio and we crafted legislation based on the best practices learned by those that went before us.”— Haren in a press release   

The plan earmarks 36% of cannabis tax-derived revenues to support social equity and jobs programs; 36% would go toward funding communities that host adult-use dispensaries; 25% for education and addiction treatment; and 3% to the Division of Cannabis Control to cover administrative costs related to the adult-use cannabis industry.