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Ohio lawmakers on Friday formally introduced a bill to legalize marijuana possession, production and sales\u2014the first effort of its kind in the state legislature. This comes as activists are pursuing a separate ballot initiative that would effectively force the legislature to consider similar cannabis reforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reps. Casey Weinstein (D) and Terrence Upchurch (D) filed the legislation, weeks after circulating a co-sponsorship memo to colleagues<\/a> to build support for the measure.<\/p>\n The 180-page bill would legalize possession of up to five ounces of cannabis for adults 21 and older and allow them to cultivate up to 12 plants for personal use. It also includes provisions to expunge prior convictions for possession and cultivation activities that are being made legal under the measure.<\/p>\n And we\u2019ll have a virtual town hall to allow all to hear more about it \u2013 and share how legalization will bring so much positive impact to Ohio. <\/p>\n Stay tuned\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/vfaLLNJdap<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rep. Casey Weinstein (@RepWeinstein) July 30, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n A 10 percent excise tax would be imposed on marijuana sales, with revenue first going toward the cost of implementation and then being divided among municipalities with at least one cannabis shop (15 percent), counties with at least one shop (15 percent), K-12 education (35 percent) and infrastructure (35 percent).<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to lead Ohio forward,\u201d Weinstein said<\/a> in a press release. \u201cThis is a big step for criminal justice reform, for our veterans, for economic opportunity, and for our individual liberties.\u201d<\/p>\n The state Department of Commerce would be responsible for overseeing the program and issuing cannabis business licenses.<\/p>\n \u2014 Individual municipalities could restrict the type and number of marijuana that operate in their area. The bill specifically states that the state\u2019s existing medical marijuana program would not be impacted by the establishment of an adult-use market.<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill is much needed in Ohio, and it\u2019s time for Ohio to become a national leader in marijuana decriminalization and legalization,\u201d Upchurch said. \u201cThis bill is more than just about legalization, it\u2019s about economic and workforce development, it\u2019s about decriminalization, and it\u2019s about healthcare! The time is now, and I look forward to getting this done in a bipartisan fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is likely to oppose the effort given his record, but activists have effectively demonstrated through local initiatives that voters in the state broadly support enacting a cannabis policy change.<\/p>\n A newly formed organization called the the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) is also actively collecting signatures for a statewide ballot measure that would separately force lawmakers to consider taking up legalization legislation once a certain signature gathering threshold is met.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad to see it! It\u2019s added momentum toward legalization,\u201d Weinstein told Marijuana Moment earlier this week of the ballot effort. \u201cAnd hopefully a looming ballot initiative will add some incentive for my Republican colleagues to work with me on my bill.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, 22 jurisdictions have adopted local statues<\/a>\u00a0so far that reduce the penalty for low-level cannabis possession from a misdemeanor punishable by jail time and a fine to the \u201clowest penalty allowed by state law.\u201d And activists are\u00a0pursuing similar policy changes in dozens of cities this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don Keeney, executive director of NORML Appalachia, told Marijuana Moment that local officials have so far certified decriminalization initiatives in five cities they were targeting this year: Laurelville, McArthur, Murray City, New Lexington and New Straitsville.<\/p>\n Ohio activists had hoped to\u00a0place a cannabis legalization<\/a> initiative on the statewide ballot<\/a>\u00a0last year, but that effort stalled as the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting public health restrictions made signature gathering all but impossible.<\/p>\n Local advocates sought relief through the court system to make it so they could collect signatures electronically for 2020 ballot initiatives, but the lawsuit was repeatedly rejected\u2014most recently by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which ruled on Wednesday that the challenge was no longer relevant<\/a> because last year\u2019s election has passed and the case was therefore moot.<\/p>\n Read the text of the Ohio marijuana legalization bill below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Ohio marijuana legalization\u2026<\/a> by Marijuana Moment<\/a><\/p>\n GOP Senator Sponsoring Marijuana Banking Bill Proposes Controversial Welfare Restrictions For Cannabis Purchases<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Ohio Lawmakers Officially File Marijuana Legalization Bill In Historic First For The State<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Ohio lawmakers on Friday formally introduced a bill to legalize marijuana possession, production and sales\u2014the first effort of its kind in the state legislature. This comes as activists are pursuing a separate ballot initiative that would effectively force the legislature to consider similar cannabis reforms. Reps. Casey Weinstein (D) andContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":49183,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49182"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49184,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49182\/revisions\/49184"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Marijuana legalization bill: filed! Proud of this. @tupchurch216<\/a> and I put a lot of work into getting this right. <\/p>\n
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\nRead More: Ohio Lawmakers Officially File Marijuana Legalization Bill In Historic First For The State<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"