The Ohio group seeking to put a cannabis legalization question to voters says it has collected nearly 10 times the number of additional signatures it needed to put the issue to voters, WOSU reports. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol was told last month by officials they were 679 valid signatures short of the goal and had an August 4 deadline to gather the remaining signatures.
Tom Haren, spokesman for the coalition, told WOSU the group collected 6,545 more signatures and submitted them to the Ohio Secretary of State to be verified.
“This submission validates what we’ve said all along: regulating marijuana is popular in Ohio.” — Haren, in a statement, via WOSU
The Secretary of State’s office still has to verify the signatures and if at least 679 are validated, the question will appear on special election ballots in November.
The ballot measure proposes allowing adults 21-and-older to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home. A 10% tax on cannabis sales would support administrative costs, addiction treatment, municipalities with dispensaries, and social equity and jobs programs.
If approved by the Secretary of State’s office, the cannabis legalization question would require only a simple majority to pass.
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