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Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2022)
Measure design
Trusted mail order marijuana.See also: Text of measure
The initiative would enact a state law to legalize the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home growth, and use of recreational marijuana for adults 21 years of age or older. Adults would be authorized to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates. Individuals would be able to grow six marijuana plants at home or up to 12 plants per household.[1][2]
The initiative would also enact a 10% cannabis tax rate on adult-use sales and dedicate revenue to fund “a cannabis social equity and jobs program” to “provide financial assistance and license application support to individuals most directly and adversely impacted by the enforcement of marijuana-related laws.” It would also fund the community cannabis fund, the substance abuse and addiction fund, and the Division of Cannabis Control (established by the initiative to oversee the state’s cannabis industry).[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the initiative is as follows:[1]
| “ | An Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use Cannabis[3] | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for the initiative is as follows:[1]
| “ | The Act would enact Chapter 3780 (‘Chapter’) of the Ohio Revised Code regarding adult use cannabis control to authorize and regulate the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home grow, and use of adult use cannabis by adults at least twenty-one years of age (‘adult use consumers’). Adult use cannabis, cannabis and marijuana are all defined under the Act to mean marihuana has defined in section 3719.01 of the Ohio Revised Code.[3] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is leading the campaign in support of the ballot initiative.[4]
Arguments
- Tom Haren, spokesperson for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said, “We are proposing to regulate marijuana for adult use, just like we do for alcohol. Our proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone.”[5]Trusted mail order marijuana
Opposition
Opponents
- Governor Mike DeWine (R)[6]
Arguments
- Governor Mike DeWine (R) said, “I do not, however, support legalizing marijuana for recreational use. I have seen the negative effects it has had in states that have legalized it and fear that it would also lead to increased use by underage kids and that small children could consume marijuana-laced foods that look like candy.”[7]Trusted mail order marijuana
Background
Recreational marijuana
See also: Marijuana laws in the United States
As of June 2021, 18 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized marijuana for recreational purposes; 12 through citizen initiatives, one through a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, and six through bills approved by state legislatures and signed by governors. An additional 13 states had decriminalized recreational marijuana usage. In those states, while recreational marijuana usage was illegal, violation typically results in a fine rather than arrest or jail time for first-time offenders.[8] Based on 2019 population estimates, roughly 40% percent of Americans lived in a jurisdiction with legalized recreational marijuana.
In 2012, Voters in Colorado and Washington became the first to legalize recreational marijuana when they did so through citizen-initiated measures.Trusted mail order marijuana
The Vermont State Legislature approved a bill in mid-January 2018 to allow recreational marijuana, and Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed it into law on January 22, 2018. Vermont was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana without voters approving a citizen initiative.[9][10] The following states also legalized recreational marijuana through legislative action instead of a ballot measure:Trusted mail order marijuana
- On June 25, 2019, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law legalizing the use and possession of recreational marijuana.[11]
- On March 31, 2021, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a marijuana legalization bill.
- On April 7, 2021, the Virginia Legislature approved a gubernatorial substitute for a bill designed to legalize recreational marijuana effective July 1, 2021.
- On April 12, 2021, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) House Bill 2 legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana.
- On June 22, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana.
Ballot measures legalizing recreational marijuana were approved by voters at the November 2020 election in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota.
The New Jersey measure was the first legislatively referred measure to legalize recreational marijuana.
The measure in South Dakota was ruled unconstitutional on February 8, 2021. The case was appealed to the state Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court ruling.
The map below details the legal status of recreational marijuana by state as of March 2021.
The following table provides information about when and how recreational marijuana became legal.
| Timeline and process of recreational marijuana legalization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Year legalized | Process used | Vote | |
| For | Against | |||
| Colorado | 2012 | Initiative | 55.32% | 45.68% |
| Washington | 2012 | Initiative | 55.7% | 44.3% |
| Alaska | 2014 | Initiative | 53.23% | 46.77% |
| Oregon | 2014 | Initiative | 56.11% | 43.89% |
| Washington, D.C. | 2014 | Initiative | 70.06% | 29.94% |
| California | 2016 | Initiative | 57.13% | 42.87% |
| Maine | 2016 | Initiative | 50.26% | 49.74% |
| Massachusetts | 2016 | Initiative | 53.66% | 46.34% |
| Nevada | 2016 | Initiative | 54.47% | 45.53% |
| Michigan | 2018 | Initiative | 55.89% | 44.11% |
| Vermont | 2018 | Legislation | N/A | N/A |
| Illinois | 2019 | Legislation | N/A | N/A |
| Arizona | 2020 | Initiative | 60.03% | 39.97%[12] |
| Montana | 2020 | Initiative | 56.90% | 43.10% |
| New Jersey | 2020 | Referral | 67.08% | 32.92% |
| New York | 2021 | Legislation | N/A | N/A |
| Virginia | 2021 | Legislation | N/A | N/A |
| New Mexico | 2021 | Legislation | N/A | N/A |
| Connecticut | 2021 | Legislation | N/A | N/A |
Path to the ballot
See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Ohio
The state process
In Ohio, the number of signatures required to get an indirect initiated state statute placed on the ballot is equal to 6 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Ohio also requires initiative sponsors to submit 1,000 signatures with the initial petition application. Signatures are collected in two phases for indirect initiatives:
- Phase 1: signatures equal to 3 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election are required to place the initiative before the Ohio General Assembly, which has four months to vote to approve or reject the initiative or take no action.
- Phase 2: If the Ohio General Assembly fails to pass or act on the initiative, an additional number of signatures equal to 3 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election are required to place the initiative on the ballot.
Ohio also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures be gathered from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Petitioners must gather signatures equal to a minimum of half the total required percentage of the gubernatorial vote in each of the 44 counties. The first round of petitions are allowed to circulate for an indefinite period of time. The first round of signatures for an indirect initiative must be filed at least 10 days prior to the legislative session of the year proponents want the measure addressed. The second round of signatures must be filed within 90 days after the legislature rejects or fails to act on the initiative.Buy marijuana online store
The requirements to get an indirect initiated state statute certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 266,774 valid signatures are required to get an indirect initiative on the ballot, including 1,000 signatures to file the proposal, 132,887 signatures for the first round, and 132,887 for the second round.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit the first round of signatures was December 24, 2021. The deadline to submit the second round of signatures is 90 days following the legislature’s four-month deadline to address the measure.
County boards of elections are responsible for verifying signatures, and the secretary of state must determine the sufficiency of the signature petition at least 105 days before the election. If the first batch of signatures is determined to be insufficient, the petitioners are given a ten-day window to collect more signatures.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed by Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) on July 27, 2021.[2]
- On August 5, 2021, the attorney general rejected the ballot summary of the initiative because it did not meet the standard of a “fair and truthful statement of the proposed law.”[13]
- On August 13, 2021, the campaign submitted a new version of the initiative petition.[2]
- On August 20, 2021, the attorney general certified the new ballot summary of the initiative.[14]
- On August 30, 2021, the Ohio Ballot Board cleared the petition for signature gathering.[15]
- On December 20, 2021, the campaign submitted 206,943 signatures to the secretary of state’s office.[16]
- On January 3, 2022, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced that 119,825 signatures were valid – 13,062 less than the number required. In Ohio, campaigns are given a one-week cure period to collect additional signatures, meaning the campaign had until January 14, 2022, to submit more signatures.[17]
- On January 13, 2022, the campaign announced that they had submitted an additional 29,918 signatures.[18]
- On January 28, 2022, the secretary of state announced that the campaign had collected 136,729 valid signatures, which means the campaign had a signature validity rate of 57.7%.[19][20]
