Second Ohio Medical Marijuana Amendment Moves Forward

[Robert Celt]

A second Ohio medical marijuana amendment has passed the initial hurdle to getting on the ballot.

The Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Amendment would allow adults to grow, possess and use marijuana for "medicinal purpose" and allow farmers to cultivate industrial hemp.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Thursday certified the petition summary from Grassroots Ohioans as a "fair and truthful" summary of the proposed amendment. DeWine rejected the group's initial language.

Now, the proposed amendment goes to the Ohio Ballot Board to decide whether the measure constitutes one or multiple amendments. If determined to be one amendment, supporters then must collect at least 305,591 signatures of registered Ohio voters to qualify for the ballot. The deadline for the November ballot is July 6.

Last week, a separate medical marijuana proposal backed by national group Marijuana Policy Project cleared the Ballot Board. The group behind that amendment, Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, began collecting signatures.

Grassroots Ohioans' amendment differs in several ways:

• Does not require a physician's permission nor that the patient register with the state.
• Allows industrial hemp to be grown in Ohio.
• Does not establish a regulatory structure in the Ohio Constitution, but supporters plan to write regulations into state law through a citizen-initiated statute.

Grassroots Ohioans has said they plan to collect signatures for the November ballot but will continue collecting for 2017 if they can't meet the July deadline.

News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Second Ohio Medical Marijuana Amendment Moves Forward
Author: Jackie Borchardt
Contact: Cleveland.com
Photo Credit: Glen Stubbe
Website: Cleveland.com