Ohio voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana on Tuesday, making the state the 24th in the U.S. to end prohibition.
The measure, campaigned for by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA), establishes a regulatory framework to allow adults 21 and older to purchase, possess and cultivate cannabis. Recent surveys signaled it was in a strong position to pass—in spite of opposition from the governor and GOP state lawmakers.
“Marijuana is no longer a controversial issue,” Tom Haren, spokesperson for the campaign, told Marijuana Moment. “Ohioans demonstrated this by passing State Issue 2 in a landslide. Ohioans are being extremely clear on the future they want for our state: adult-use marijuana legal and regulated.”
Voters were presented with summary language for the initiative—designated as Issue 2—that says the measure will legalize and regulate “the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home grow, and use of cannabis by adults at least twenty-one years of age.”
“A broad, bipartisan and diverse array of Ohioans spoke clearly tonight,” Ohio Rep. Casey Weinstein (D), who has championed legalization in the legislature, told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday. “The time to legalize marijuana has come. I hope the leaders in the legislature will heed their call and honor the will of the vote.”
Under the approve measure, the legalization of possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and cultivation of up to six plants (or 12 if two or more adults live in the same household) will become effective on December 7. Officials must get rules in place to start approving licensed retailers within nine months of the effective date.
Here are the key provisions of the Ohio legalization ballot measure.
- The initiative would legalize possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis for adults 21 and older, and they could also have up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates.
- Individuals could grow up to six plants for personal use, with a maximum 12 plants per household.
- A 10 percent sales tax would be imposed on cannabis sales, with revenue being divided up to support social equity and jobs programs (36 percent), localities that allow adult-use marijuana enterprises to operate in their area (36 percent), education and substance misuse programs (25 percent) and administrative costs of implementing the system (three percent).
- A Division of Cannabis Control would be established under the state Department of Commerce. It would have authority to “license, regulate, investigate, and penalize adult use cannabis operators, adult use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed.”
- The measure gives current medical cannabis businesses a head start in the recreational market. Regulators would need to begin issuing adult-use licenses to qualified applicants who operate existing medical operations within nine months of enactment.
- The division would also be required to issue 40 recreational cultivator licenses and 50 adult-use retailer licenses “with a preference to applications who are participants under the cannabis social equity and jobs program.” And it would authorize regulators to issue additional licenses for the recreational market two years after the first operator is approved.
- Individual municipalities would be able to opt out of allowing new recreational cannabis companies from opening in their area, but they could not block existing medical marijuana firms even if they want to add co-located adult-use operations. Employers could also maintain policies prohibiting workers from consuming cannabis for adult use.
- Further, regulators would be required to “enter into an agreement with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services” to provide “cannabis addiction services,” which would involve “education and treatment for individuals with addiction issues related to cannabis or other controlled substances including opioids.”
- With respect to social equity, some advocates are concerned about the lack of specific language on automatic expungements to clear the records of people with convictions for offenses that would be made legal under the legislation. That said, the measure does include a provision requiring regulators to “study and fund” criminal justice reform initiatives including expungements.
“Cannabis legalization is an issue that unites Democrats, Republicans and Independents,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said on Tuesday. “Ohioans have seen similar legalization laws adopted in neighboring states and they know that regulating the cannabis market is preferable to the failed policy of prohibition. It is imperative that elected officials respect the voters’ decision and implement this measure in a manner that is consistent with the sentiments of the majority of the electorate.”
Matthew Schweich, interim executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) told Marijuana Moment that Tuesday’s vote “shows that a cannabis legalization campaign can win anytime and anywhere.”
“More importantly, the people of Ohio will benefit greatly from a cannabis policy based on common sense and fairness,” he said. “The plague of cannabis prohibition has finally been lifted from the Buckeye State.”
The Ohio measure underwent an extensive path to passage that took activists to the courts, the legislature and finally the ballot.
Organizers first tried putting the measure on the state’s 2022 ballot, but procedural complications prevented that from happening. They turned in enough signatures to trigger a legislative review by lawmakers, but the timing of their initial submission was challenged.
CTRMLA filed suit to force ballot placement, but that was unsuccessful with respect to the 2022 election. However, the state agreed to a settlement that meant supporters would not have to collect the first round of initial signatures again and that the initiative would be immediately retransmitted to the legislature at the start of the 2023 session.
Once the signatures were transmitted to lawmaker this year, they had four months to act on the proposal but declined to do so. Advocates then collected the remaining signatures for ballot placement, which were officially certified by the state in August. The Ohio Ballot Board finalized the summary language later that month.
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Article posted with permission
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Published on November 7, 2023
By Kyle Jaeger
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Photo Credit: Marijuana Moment
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Link to original : Ohio Voters Approve Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative, Making It The 24th State To End Prohibition
