{"id":66494,"date":"2023-07-05T09:24:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T17:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/07\/05\/ohio-activists-turn-in-signatures-to-put-marijuana-legalization-on-november-ballot\/"},"modified":"2023-07-05T19:47:22","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T03:47:22","slug":"ohio-activists-turn-in-signatures-to-put-marijuana-legalization-on-november-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/07\/05\/ohio-activists-turn-in-signatures-to-put-marijuana-legalization-on-november-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Activists Turn In Signatures To Put Marijuana Legalization On November Ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ohio activists have turned in what they say are more than enough signatures to qualify a marijuana legalization initiative<\/a> for the state\u2019s November ballot.<\/p>\n

After the legislature declined to take the opportunity to enact the reform during a court-imposed window this session, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) turned in a batch of more than 220,000 signatures to the secretary of state\u2019s office on Wednesday to put the issue before voters later this year.<\/p>\n

This represents the second group of signatures that activists have submitted to the state in order to qualify the measure. The first round triggered a four-month legislative review period that lawmakers could have used to act on the issue\u2014but they didn\u2019t, which allowed the campaign to begin collecting the second half of the petitions they needed to make the ballot. The latest batch needs to contain at least 124,046 valid signatures from registered voters.<\/p>\n

Based on the volume of signatures and the results of internal verifications, the campaign is confident they\u2019ve met that requirement.<\/p>\n

Activists initially worked to put the legalization initiative on last year\u2019s ballot, but procedural complications prevented that from happening. Activists turned in enough signatures to trigger the legislative review, but the timing of their initial submission was challenged.<\/p>\n

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Supporters of a proposed law to regulate marijuana like alcohol for this November\u2019s ballot deliver 254 boxes of petitions to the Ohio Secretary of State\u2019s office. They need around 124k signatures to make the ballot \u2013 they\u2019re submitting more than 222k. pic.twitter.com\/TAsnuiYMus<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Karen Kasler (@karenkasler) July 5, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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CTRMLA filed suit to force ballot placement, but that was unsuccessful with respect to the 2022 election. However, the state agreed to a settlement<\/a> that meant they would not have to collect the first round of initial signatures again and that the initiative would be immediately retransmitted to the legislature at the start of the 2023 session.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to have reached this milestone,\u201d campaign spokesperson Tom Haren said in a press release. \u201cThis is a testament to the hard work of our campaign and the support of Ohio voters who are ready for common-sense marijuana reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t ground-breaking,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to get Ohio in line with neighbors like Michigan and Illinois.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haren told Marijuana Moment in an interview on Friday that once the state certifies the initiative, CTRMLA will move forward with a \u201ctargeted voter outreach effort\u201d to raise awareness about the vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people we need to reach, we will reach,\u201d Haren said.<\/p>\n

Here are the key provisions of the legalization ballot measure that may appear on the November ballot:<\/strong><\/p>\n