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.
Early voting has begun in Ohio for Issue 2, a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in … [+]
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.”