Adult-Use Cannabis Back In Play For Ohio As Officials Verify Signature Count

Officials in Ohio confirmed this week that activists behind a proposal to legalize the sale and possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis for adults 21 and older have successfully collected the required number of signatures to force the state’s legislature to deliberate on the proposal.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol sent a second round of signatures for the measure earlier this month after a review of their original submission determined some 87,000 of the 206,943 signatures were invalid. By reaching formal validation, the petition by Ohio law must be reviewed by the bicameral legislature, but there’s no requirement for lawmakers to actually enact the reform.

The Republican-controlled legislature will have the next four months to adopt, reject or pass an amended version of the measure. In the likely event it’s rejected, The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will have the option to collect another 132,887 signatures from registered Ohio voters to land the initiative on November’s ballot.

“We are ready and eager to work with Ohio legislators over the next four months to legalize the adult use of marijuana in Ohio,” coalition spokesman Tom Haren said in a news release. “We are also fully prepared to collect additional signatures and take this issue directly to voters on November 8, 2022, if legislators fail to act.”

In addition to legalizing possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis for adults 21 and older, the bill would also permit up to 15 grams of concentrated THC. Adults would be allowed to grow up to six plants for personal use at home, but no more than 12 plants would be permitted per household.

The proposal calls for a 10 percent excise tax on recreational cannabis sales, which officials plan to spend on programs addressing social equity, jobs, cannabis education and substance abuse. Tax proceeds will also cover the state’s costs of regulating the adult-use industry.

Municipalities would be able to opt out of permitting retail cannabis companies from opening within city limits, but they could not stop existing medical marijuana firms from adding adult-use products to their stores. Notably, workers in Ohio could still be fired for testing positive for marijuana if their employers decided to maintain a stringent no-cannabis policy.