The Ohio Attorney General’s Office on Friday approved the summary language of the petition to legalize adult cannabis use in the state. The approval comes about two weeks after Attorney General (AG) David Yost rejected the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol’s initial summary after determining it wasn’t “fair and truthful.”
“Next in the process, the Ohio Ballot Board must determine whether the proposal contains a single law or multiple laws,” the AG’s Office said in a press release announcing the language approval.
After the board certifies the petition, campaign organizers must collect signatures from registered voters equal to at least 3% of the vote cast in the last gubernatorial election. Additionally, those signatures must come from voters in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties and, for each of those counties, the number must equal at least 1.5% of the vote cast in the last gubernatorial election, the AG’s Office said.
If the group gathers the 133,000 valid signatures, the bill would be sent to Ohio lawmakers who would have four months to approve the bill. If they don’t act, the group would have to collect another 133,000 valid signatures to put the issue to voters.
The initiative seeks to make it legal for adults 21-and-older to buy and possess 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow up to six plants inside their homes. The proposal would allow the state’s current medical cannabis operators first shot at adult-use licenses and give them exclusive rights for two years.
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