Ohio
Early Voting For Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative Begins
Early voting for an Ohio marijuana legalization initiative begins on Wednesday, giving the state’s voters a chance to make the state the 24th in the nation to legalize recreational cannabis for adults. Early in-person voting begins on October 11 for the statewide election to be held next month on Tuesday, November 7. The measure sponsored by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is listed as Issue 2 in voting materials, appearing on the ballot with a proposed constitutional amendment to protect reproductive rights including abortion.
If passed, the proposed ballot initiative would legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio for adults 21 and older, who would be permitted to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrates. The proposal also legalizes marijuana cultivation for personal use, with adults allowed to grow up to six cannabis plants at home. Households with more than one adult would be permitted to grow a total of 12 plants.
The commercial production and sales of cannabis products would be regulated by a new state agency dubbed the Division of Cannabis Control, which would have the authority to “license, regulate, investigate, and penalize adult use cannabis operators, adult use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed,” according to the text of the measure. Cannabis products would carry a 10% tax, which would be dedicated to administrative costs of marijuana regulation, substance misuse treatment programs and a social equity and jobs program.
Municipalities with licensed recreational marijuana dispensaries would also receive a share of cannabis tax revenue. Under the proposal’s social equity program, some cannabis cultivation and dispensary licenses would be reserved for individuals from communities that have faced disproportionate enforcement of Ohio’s current marijuana laws.
“We are proposing to regulate marijuana for adult use, just like we do for alcohol,” campaign spokesperson Tom Haren said in a press release when the campaign was launched nearly two years ago. “Our proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone.”
Polls Show Ohio Weed Legalization Bid Likely To Pass
The Ohio marijuana legalization initiative appears likely to succeed at the ballot box, according to public opinion polls. In a recent poll of 843 likely voters commissioned by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol and conducted by FM3 Research, 55% of respondents said they “definitely” or “probably” will vote yes on the initiative, while about 34% “definitely” or “probably” will oppose it. A separate poll from Fallon Research found that 59% of registered voters surveyed support the ballot measure, while less than a third (32%) said they would vote against the initiative.
If the marijuana legalization initiative prevails at the polls, Ohio will join the 23 states that have legalized recreational marijuana for adults.
“The sky hasn’t fallen in any of those states,” Heren said in a statement to the Salem News. “Our proposal is pretty standard. We looked at the best practices and things that could be better. We tried to craft a proposal that works for Ohio.”
Brian Vicente, founding partner of the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP who is an Ohio native and member of the state’s bar association, said that the marijuana legalization effort in Ohio could set the stage for further cannabis policy reform measures across the country.
“The significance of Ohio’s pending vote on legalization cannot be overstated,” Vicente wrote in an August email. “Ohio has long been considered the political bellwether for the country. If Ohio supports this measure, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the country joins the over two dozen states with adult-use legalization.”
As an initiated statute rather than a constitutional amendment, if Issue 2 is successful at the polls the state legislature could conceivably modify or even repeal the measure. But Haren believes that possibility is unlikely.
“I’m not aware of a single legislator who says they’re going to repeal it,” he said. “They say it’s the will of the people if it’s passed by Ohio voters.”
Ohio
Tavien St. Clair, Ohio State 5-star QB recruit, has six-TD performance for Bellefontaine
BELEFONTAINE, Ohio — Tavien St. Clair, Ohio State football’s five-star quarterback recruit, threw five touchdowns and ran in one of his own in a near-perfect display Friday night. St. Clair led Bellefontaine High School to a 56-8 victory over conference rivals Tecumseh.
Patience, control, and domination flowed from St. Clair on Friday as he completed 18 of 22 passes for 260 yards in one half of play in Week 7 of Ohio high school football.
Ohio
Ohio high school football: Columbus area OHSAA live scores, updates from Week 7
Week 7 of the 2024 high school football season began Thursday night with four Columbus City League games, and continues Friday when six central Ohio teams try to remain unbeaten on the season.
We are covering Grandview Heights (6-0) at Worthington Christian (3-3), Olentangy Liberty (5-1, 1-0 OCC-Central) at Upper Arlington (5-1, 1-0), Westerville North (4-2, 3-0 OCC-Capital) at Westland (5-1, 3-0).
Watch Ohio high school football on NFHS Network
In City League action Thursday night, Africentric visited Marion-Franklin, Independence hosted Briggs, Northland took on Centennial and South visited Eastmoor Academy.
As for tonight, follow along with the action all evening as this live blog grows.
OHSAA scores, updates from Week 7 of Ohio high school football season
Grandview Heights, which like Worthington Christian plays an independent schedule, enters Friday first in the Division VI, Region 23 computer rankings.
Liberty and UA have gone to overtime both of the past two years, with Liberty winning both games. The teams are first and fourth, respectively, in Division I, Region 3, and through one week of OCC-Central play share the league lead with Olentangy Orange.
Westland is a victory from clinching its first winning season since 2006. The Cougars have scored 41 points each of the past three weeks, a contrast to North, which held off crosstown rival Westerville South 3-0 last week.
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Ohio
Who’s starting for OSU Saturday? Ohio State football projected depth chart vs. Iowa
Ohio State plays its first home Big Ten game of the season on Saturday, facing the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Ohio State will kick off against Iowa at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS.
Here’s what Ohio State’s depth chart is expected to look like Saturday afternoon vs. Iowa.
Ohio State depth chart vs. Iowa
Head coach Ryan Day (Sixth year, 60-8 overall, 40-3 Big Ten)
Projected Ohio State depth chart: Offense
Offensive coordinator: Chip Kelly
Left tackle
- Josh Simmons: 71, 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, senior
- Zen Michalski: 65, 6-foot-6, 319 pounds, senior
Left guard
- Donovan Jackson: 74, 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, senior
- Austin Siereveld: 67, 6-foot-5, sophomore
Center
- Seth McLaughlin: 55, 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, graduate senior
- Carson Hinzman: 51, 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, junior
Right guard
- Tegra Tshabola: 77, 6-foot-6, 327 pounds, junior
- Luke Montgomery: 51, 6-foot-5, 308 pounds, sophomore
Right tackle
- Josh Fryar: 70, 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, senior
- George Fitzpatrick: 68, 6-foot-6, 313 pounds, junior
Quarterback
- Will Howard: 18, 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, graduate senior
- Devin Brown: 33, 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, junior
Running back
- TreVeyon Henderson: 32, 5-foot-10, 208 pounds, senior
- Quinshon Judkins: 1, 6-foot, 219 pounds, junior
Tight end
- Gee Scott Jr.: 88, 6-foot-3, 243 pounds, graduate senior
- Will Kacmarek: 89, 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, senior
Wide receiver
- Carnell Tate: 17, 6-foot-3, 191 pounds, sophomore
- Jayden Ballard: 9, 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, senior
Wide receiver (Slot)
- Emeka Egbuka: 2, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, graduate senior
- Brandon Inniss: 11, 6-foot, 203 pounds, sophomore
Wide receiver
- Jeremiah Smith: 4, 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, freshman
- Mylan Graham: 5, 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, freshman
Projected Ohio State depth chart: Defense
Defensive coordinator: Jim Knowles
Defensive end
- J.T. Tuimoloau: 44, 6-foot-5, 269 pounds, senior
- Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 97, 6-foot-6, 258 pounds, junior
Defensive tackle
- Tyleik Williams: 91, 6-foot-3, 327 pounds, senior
- Kayden McDonald: 98, 6-foot-3, 326 pounds, sophomore
Defensive tackle
- Ty Hamilton: 58, 6-foot-3, 295 pounds, senior
- Tywone Malone: 95, 6-foot-4, 301 pounds, senior
Defensive end
- Jack Sawyer: 33, 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, senior
- Caden Curry: 92, 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, junior
Linebacker (Middle)
- Cody Simon: 0, 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, graduate senior
- Gabe Powers: 36, 6-foot-4, 242 pounds, junior
Linebacker (Weak side)
- Sonny Styles: 6, 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, junior
- Arvell Reese : 20, 6-foot-4, 238 pounds, sophomore
Cornerback
- Denzel Burke: 10, 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, senior
- Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 14, 5-foot-11, 189 pounds, sophomore
Cornerback
- Davison Igbinosun: 1, 6-foot-2, 193 pounds, junior
- Calvin Simpson-Hunt: 22, 6-foot, 204 pounds, sophomore
Safety
- Lathan Ransom: 8, 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, senior
- Jayden Bonsu: 21, 6-foot-2, 207 pounds, sophomore
Safety
- Caleb Downs: 2, 6-foot, 205 pounds, sophomore
- Malik Hartford: 25, 6-foot-3, 194 pounds, sophomore
Nickel
- Jordan Hancock: 7, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, senior
- Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 4, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, senior
Projected Ohio State depth chart: Special teams
Kicker
- Jayden Fielding: 38, 6-foot, 175 pounds, junior
- Austin Snyder: 98, 5-foot-7, 194 pounds, senior
Punter
- Joe McGuire: 42, 6-foot-2, 212 pounds, sophomore
- Nick McLarty: 19, 6-foot-7, 255 pounds, freshman
Long snapper
- John Ferlmann: 43, 6-foot-2, 228 pounds, senior
- Max Lomonico: 48, 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, senior
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