Ohio’s High Hopes: 6,500+ New Signatures for Recreational Marijuana Ballot

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has submitted more than 6,500 new signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State, aiming to place a recreational marijuana legalization issue on the November ballot in Ohio.

This follows a previous attempt by the coalition, when they delivered petitions containing over 220,000 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office last month, reports Fox News. However, the group fell short after the state invalidated hundreds of signatures due to various reasons, such as signatures not matching or voters mistakenly signing a petition from a different county.

Should the initiative make it to the November ballot, a simple majority vote would be required for it to pass.

The ballot measure seeks to allow adults aged 21 and over to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow plants at home. Additionally, a 10% tax would be implemented to support administrative costs, addiction treatment, municipalities with dispensaries, and social equity and job programs.

If passed, the Buckeye State would become the 24th state to legalize cannabis for adult use. An upcoming special election on August 8 to decide whether to raise the bar for passing future constitutional amendments would not affect the marijuana question, as it advanced through the citizen-initiated statute process.