The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously voted Thursday to solidify the language voters will see for the proposed recreational marijuana law in the November election.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol is backing the ballot proposal which would legalize and regulate cultivation, manufacturing, testing and the sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up. It would also legalize home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.
“Unanimous approval by the bipartisan ballot board should assure voters that ‘What they see is what they’ll get’,” Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol spokesperson Tom Haren said in a statement. “That means: hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue and stringent regulation like we already have in our existing medical marijuana market. We are looking forward to putting the illicit market out of business this November.”
The proposal will be State Issue 2 on the Nov. 7 election.
No one spoke during the public comment portion of Thursday’s meeting in regards to Issue 2 nor was there discussion about it among the five-person Ballot Board, chaired by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. State Rep. Elliot Forhan, D-South Euclid, citizen William N. Morgan, Sens. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green and Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo are also on the board.
The Ballot Board determines what language voters will see on ballot.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — AUGUST 24: The Ohio Ballot Board meeting to certify the language for Issue 1, the proposed constitutional amendment entitled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety” and Issue 2 entitled “An Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use Cannabis,” August 24, 2023, at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal)
The proposed law would establish the Division of Cannabis Control within the Department of Commerce which would “regulate, investigate, and penalize adult use cannabis operators, adult use testing laboratories and individuals required to be licensed.”
It would create five funds in the state treasury: the adult use tax fund, the cannabis social equity and jobs fund; the host community cannabis fund; the substance abuse and addiction fund, and the division of cannabis control and tax commissioner fund.
Landlords or an employer would have the authority “to prohibit the adult use of cannabis in certain circumstances, and prohibit the operation of a motor vehicle while using or under the influence of adult use cannabis and from using any other combustible adult use cannabis while a passenger in a motor vehicle.”
The proposed law would require the Division of Cannabis Control to enter into an agreement with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to establish a program for cannabis addiction services.
Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.
A proposed recreational marijuana law will be on Ohio’s November ballot after all.
The Secretary of State’s office verified 4,405 additional valid petition signatures — bringing the grand total to 127,772, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Wednesday in a letter to the campaign. 124,046 signatures were needed.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol’s statute initiative would legalize and regulate cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up. It would also legalize home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.
“We are grateful to the thousands of Ohioans who helped us get to this point and are excited to bring our proposal to regulate marijuana like alcohol before Ohio voters this coming Election Day,” spokesperson Tom Haren said.
This comes after the coalition initially came up just short of collecting enough valid signatures. The coalition submitted 223,176 signatures in July, but only 123,367 were found to be valid signatures. They recently submitted 6,545 additional signatures after the 10-day cure period.
Hamilton County submitted the most valid signatures with 1,914. Next was Franklin County with 711 and Montgomery County with 626.
Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol submitted 123,367 valid signatures, but 124,046 signatures were needed. Supporters will now have 10 days to collect the needed 679 valid signatures.
“It looks like we came up a little short in this first phase, but now we have 10 days to find just 679 voters to sign a supplemental petition – this is going to be easy, because a majority of Ohioans support our proposal to regulate and tax adult use marijuana,” Tom Haren, a spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said in a statement.
This would legalize and regulate cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up.
It would also legalize home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 223,176 signatures earlier this month.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — JUNE 05: Field staffers for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol deliver boxes containing petitions with 222,198 signatures to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, July 5, 2023, at the loading dock of the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State, 180 E Broad St in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.)
Franklin County submitted the most valid signatures with 26,090, followed up by Hamilton County with 18,097 and Cuyahoga County with 14,073.
The proposal was submitted by citizens through an initiated statute, so it is not an amendment to the state’s constitution and is not affected by Issue 1. Early voting for Aug. 8’s special election is currently underway where Ohioans will decide if they want to make it harder to amend the state’s constitution.
There are 370,287 registered patients in Ohio and 174,591 patients with both an active registration and an active recommendation as of May 31, according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program.
House Bill 168
There is another way recreational marijuana could be legalized in Ohio.
State Reps. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, and Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, introduced House Bill 168 in May which would allow Ohioans 21 and older to cultivate, purchase and possess marijuana.
The bipartisan bill is currently in House committee.
Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.
Irritable bowel syndrome patients can now use medical marijuana for treatment.
The State Medical Board made IBS the 26th qualifying condition for medical marijuana under Ohio law, and rejected obsessive-compulsive syndrome and autism spectrum disorder as qualifying conditions during Wednesday’s meeting.
“While this addition will help expand patient access to medical marijuana and help many Ohio patients with this condition, we are disappointed the board did not approve autism spectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder,” said Charlie Trefny, the Ohio Medical Cannabis Industry Association’s director of government affairs.
IBS is a chronic condition that affects the stomach and can cause cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhea. It affects between 25 and 45 million people in the United States.
Senate Bill 9
This was the fourth time the State Medical Board has received petitions to add autism to the list of qualifying conditions.
Senate Bill 9 would add autism, arthritis, migraines, spasticity or chronic muscle spasms, hospice care or terminal illness, and opioid use disorder to the list of qualifying conditions.
State Sens. Stephen Huffman, R-Tipp City, and Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, introduced the bill earlier this year.
Among other things, SB 9 would also expand permissible forms of medical marijuana to include pills, capsules and suppositories, oral pouches, oral strips, oral or topical sprays, salves, lotions, or similar items, and inhalers.
Legalizing recreational marijuana
There are currently a couple different ongoing efforts efforts to legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol submitted more than enough signatures needed to get a proposal on the November ballot that would legalize and regulate cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up.
The coalition submitted more than 220,000 signatures, well above the necessary 124,000.
The proposal would also legalize home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence. The proposal would also impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.
Since the proposal was submitted by citizens through an initiated statute, it is not an amendment to the state’s constitution. Ohioans will vote on Issue 1 during Aug. 8’s special election, which would require a 60% supermajority of Ohio voters to amend the state’s constitution.
Ohioans 21 and older would also be able to cultivate, purchase and possess marijuana if House Bill 168 passes. The bipartisan bill is currently in House committee.
Qualifying conditions in Ohio
These are the qualifying medical conditions that are eligible for treatment using medical marijuana under Ohio law:
AIDS
Alzheimer’s disease
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
cachexia
cancer
chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Crohn’s disease
epilepsy or another seizure disorder
fibromyalgia
glaucoma
hepatitis C
Huntington’s disease
inflammatory bowel disease
irritable bowel syndrome
multiple sclerosis
pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable
Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.
House Bill 168 would rename Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program to the Division of Marijuana Control and it would be in charge of regulating the medical marijuana and adult-use programs.
Ohioans 21 and older would be able to cultivate, purchase and possess marijuana if a bipartisan bill passes in the Ohio Statehouse.
State Reps. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, and Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, introduced House Bill 168 — also known as the Ohio Adult Use Act — earlier this month.
The bill would also allow conviction records for prior cultivation and possession offenses to be expunged.
“Adult-use is good for our economy, good for our justice system, and the right thing to do,” Weinstein said in a news release. “Ohioans are ready to legalize cannabis.”
HB 168 would put a 10% sales tax on adult-use cannabis products. Researchers at Ohio State University estimate the potential annual tax revenue generated from adult-use cannabis in Ohio ranges from $276 million to $374 million in year five of an operational adult-use cannabis market.
“It opens up a route for people to have access to cannabis without punishment, without losing their jobs, without losing child custody,” said Tim Johnson, CEO of Cannabis Safety First.
The bill would rename the Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program to the Division of Marijuana Control and it would be in charge of regulating the medical marijuana and adult-use programs. The division would be housed within the Ohio Department of Commerce.
COLUMBUS, OH — JANUARY 03: Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) speaks from the floor during opening day ceremonies of the 135th General Assembly of the State of Ohio, January 3, 2023, in the House Chamber at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.)
“Through the expansion of Ohio’s successful Medical Marijuana program to all Ohioans, we will not only be building upon best practices from around the country but utilizing the lessons learned here in Ohio,” Callender said in a news release.
Twenty-two states, including Michigan, and Washington, D.C. have legalized the recreational use of and sale of cannabis.
“It’s time for Ohio to act on this before we fall too much further behind our neighbors,” Weinstein said.
Legalizing marijuana would free up the judicial system from cannabis arrests and possession charges, Johnson said.
“It will allow law enforcement to centralize their resources around more harmful drugs and other priority incidents as far as criminal activity and so forth in their communities,” he said.
Expunged
The expungement piece of the bill would help people go through a quicker process to get their possession or trafficking charges erased.
“The whole principle behind all of this is … to open up our workforce pool … to allow people to return to being able to purchase homes, go to school, receive grants, have custody rights, all of that,” Johnson said.
One of the things the bill does is allow prosecutors to expunge low-level marijuana possession offenses. It also prevents arrests and convictions for possessing marijuana paraphernalia from appearing in Ohio’s criminal records.
Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol is collecting petition signatures to get a similar proposal on November’s ballot. The coalition needs to get 124,000 signatures from 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties by the July 5 deadline.
Their proposal would legalize and regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up. Ohioans 21 and older could home grow with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and it would impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.
The proposal was submitted by citizens through an initiated statute, so it is not an amendment to the state’s constitution. Ohio’s Aug. 8 special election will ask voters if the state constitution should be harder to amend.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — APRIL 20: Tim Johnson, an Air Force veteran and retired law enforcement officer who has worked with Ohio lawmakers on cannabis legislation joins supporters of legalized marijuana, April 20, 2023, outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.)
Pricilla Harris, executive director of the Sensible Movement Coalition, is excited about the legislation to legalize marijuana, but said advocates favor the ballot proposal.
The ballot proposal has more protections for possession limits — 2.5 ounces compared to the bill’s 50 grams.
“We are still looking for patient protection, workforce protection for employers,” Harris said. “Unfortunately, we are just kind of lacking in that area when it comes to the bill.”
Between legislation and the ballot initiative, marijuana activists are confident weed will soon be legalized in Ohio.
“Either way you’re gonna see something happen this year in Ohio,” Johnson said.
Harris said it’s exciting to think about marijuana potentially being legalized.
“We would no longer be putting collateral damage on the residents of Ohio that are choosing cannabis as their medicine or their personal use,” she said.
Senate Bill 9
Senate Bill 9 — introduced by State Sens. Stephen Huffman, R-Tipp City, and Kirk Schuring, R-Canton — would expand Ohio’s medical marijuana program by adding more permissible forms of medical marijuana and adding to the list treatments for medical conditions.
It would also create a 13-member Medical Marijuana Oversight Commission that would oversee the Division of Marijuana Control within the Department of Commerce to oversee Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Program.
Currently, the Ohio Department of Commerce, the State Medical Board of Ohio, and the Ohio Board of Pharmacy oversee regulation and licensing in the marijuana program.
There are 355,368 patients that have registered for medical marijuana and 168,741 have both an active registration and an active recommendation as of March, according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program.
Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the last five years reporting on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.
A group pushing for recreational marijuana in Ohio is one step closer to the ballot after the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 200,000-plus signatures to state officials. Now county boards of elections begin the work of verifying signatures.
The coalition’s plan would allow Ohioans over 21 possess, use, and purchase cannabis. They propose a 10% tax on sales that would fund social equity and addiction programs. Another portion of that revenue would bolster the general funds of cities that choose to allow dispensaries within their borders. The plan would even allow adults to grow a limited amount of cannabis at home.
“The success of our petition drive shows just how eager Ohioans are to end prohibition and legalize the adult use of marijuana,” coalition spokesman Tom Haren said in a press release. “We look forward to receiving the results of the Secretary of State’s review, and are eager to begin working with legislators on this important issue.”
Signature gatherers overshot the required threshold of 132,877 by about 70,000 to provide a buffer for any signatures that get thrown out. So long as they meet the required overall number and get a designated portion from at least 44 of the state’s counties, the proposal goes to state lawmakers. If lawmakers choose not to approve the measure, the coalition has the chance to get another round of signatures to put their proposal on the ballot.
At this point, the ballot seems like the most likely path to approval, but that doesn’t mean the GOP-controlled legislature is blind to the shortcomings in Ohio’s existing marijuana program. Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, has shepherded a measure through the Senate that would make significant under-the-hood changes to the state’s marijuana policy while leaving the overall structure intact. That bill passed the Senate last week.
But provisions like allowing homegrown marijuana are a non-starter for Huffman.
“Because that’s recreational marijuana,” Huffman said in a November interview about his bill. “If you’re going to grow five for your medical purpose, you know, the neighbor kids going to steal one, [and] you’re going to sell a couple.”
And Huffman isn’t alone. A recent poll conducted by Gongwer News Service shed light on how much the ground is shifting when it comes to marijuana — 43% of Republican lawmakers supported adult use, dead even with those who oppose it. But when it comes to homegrown marijuana, the GOP is far more unified in its opposition. When it comes to personal use, 64% of GOP members registered opposition and 86% said they are against people growing cannabis for commercial use.
Assuming the coalition’s signatures meet requirements, lawmaker have four months to act on their proposal.
A direct-democracy attempt to force the state legislature to act on recreational marijuana will have enough signatures by the month’s end to set a plan in motion, an organizer projected Friday.
Ohio attorney Thomas Haren, a representative of the “Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol,” said he expects that enough signatures will be gathered to move a proposal forward that would allow for adult use, sale, and possession of marijuana in Ohio.
“We think that marijuana reform is popular,” he said at a panel hosted by the Ohio State University law school’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.
“It’s not a bipartisan issue. It’s a nonpartisan issue.”
The coalition launched what’s known in Ohio as an initiated statute. It proposed the architecture of a recreational marijuana program in Ohio. If state officials determine the coalition gathered the required 133,000 valid signatures, lawmakers in the Ohio General Assembly get four months to act on the proposal. If lawmakers fail, organizers must gather more signatures to send the proposal to a popular vote by the people at the next general election.
The proposal allows for the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana or 15 grams of marijuana extract. Adult Ohioans could purchase marijuana at retail locations or grow two plants at home (four if there are two adults living in the household).
Marijuana has reached a “tipping point” in the U.S. and the time to climb aboard was yesterday, according to Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, a lead sponsor of House Democrats’ effort on recreational marijuana.
Nineteen states and Washington D.C. have legalized marijuana for personal use, according to the advocacy group NORML. Gallup polling indicates 68% of Americans support legalizing marijuana, the highest rate since the polling firm began surveying the issue in 1969. Roughly 83% of surveyed Democrats, 71% of independents and 50% of Republicans indicated support. The Washington Post reported this week that while there’s not yet agreement on its breadth, bipartisan members of Congress are working on significant reforms to the nation’s marijuana laws.
“This is a situation where we’re behind where Ohioans are,” Weinstein said, noting that the initiated statute might provide the Legislature with a sense of “urgency.”
History
Mary Jane Borden, co-founder of the Natural Therapies Education Foundation, said Ohio lawmakers have a long history slow-walking marijuana legislation until direct democracy attempts force them to act.
Between 2000 and 2010, seven marijuana bills were introduced, she said. Only one of them received more than a perfunctory introductory hearing.
In 2016, organizers launched a campaign for a constitutional amendment to allow for the use of medical marijuana in Ohio. They suspended the campaign after Gov. John Kasich signed House Bill 523, which created Ohio’s current program.
While voters are increasingly supportive of marijuana, lawmakers are decidedly agnostic. Borden cited a recent survey of 41 members from Gongwer News Service (the poll had a 31% response rate and doesn’t necessarily represent the full General Assembly). It found among Democrats, 36% support legalization, compared to 14% who don’t and 50% who are undecided. For Republicans, 43% support legalization, compared to 43% who don’t and 14% who are undecided.
“Republicans are more favorable on this issue than we might give them credit for,” Haren, who identified himself as a Republican, said.
With such a mixed take from lawmakers, Borden said the “end-run” of a referendum can spark action.
“What motivated the change [regarding medical marijuana] was obviously the ballot issue,” she said. “Similar to what [Haren] is doing now.”
Moving parts
Alongside Haren, there are three key items to watch regarding marijuana policy in Ohio.
For one, House Democrats Weinstein and Terrence Upchurch, D-Cleveland, introduced legislation of their own, with key differences from the initiated statute proposal. Their bill contains an expungement program, allows possession of up to five ounces of marijuana, and others.
The legislation, introduced in August, has yet to receive its first hearing from the House Finance Committee.
For two, House Republicans have announced a proposal of their own that’s fairly similar to the Democrats’ plan. When they announced the legislation last month, sponsoring Reps. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, and Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, acknowledged it’s a moonshot but said they believe they can convince the House Speaker — especially given pressure an initiated statute can provide.
They have yet to formally introduce a bill. A Callender aide said Friday they’re hoping to get a bill out around Thanksgiving but did not have details on any changes from what was announced.
Thirdly, a bipartisan group of Ohio Senators earlier this month proposed a broad expansion of the current medical marijuana program. Their bill would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana whenever they “reasonably” believe a patient might benefit. A Senate committee held its first hearing on the bill last week.
