Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Backers of a for-profit marijuana legalization amendment promised a boatload of signatures -- and delivered them today.
ResponsibleOhio submitted boxes from 72 counties with 695,000 names on a petition to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to place an constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot to legalize marijuana for personal and medicinal use for Ohioans 21 and older.
ResponsibleOhio needs 305,591 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters to qualify for the fall ballot.
"This is about allowing voters to do what the Statehouse has not been willing to do for the past 18 years," said Ian James, a leader of the effort. "We want to make sure the voters have the right to be heard."
If approved, marijuana could be grown at 10 pre-selected sites around the state, or in small quantities by individuals at home. Marijuana and marijuana products would be sold at 1,100 retail locations and at medical dispensaries.
Sales would be taxed at all levels, with most of the proceeds earmarked for local governments.
At the same time, state lawmakers were hurriedly try to finalize and approve an anti-monopoly plan to try to derail the marijuana issue at the ballot box.
House Joint Resolution 4 was being negotiated this afternoon in a Senate committee and will presumably head to the floor for a vote. It was previously approved by the House.
The measure, as originally drafted, It would make it more difficult for a "monopoly or special economic interest" to submit a proposed amendment to the state constitution. Such a proposal would have to go to the voters in two separate elections — once to bypass the monopoly provision and a second time for a vote on the proposal itself.
The showdown between ResponsibleOhio's marijuana legalization proposal and the legislature's anti-monopoly plan would come at the Nov. 3 election.
If both issues were to pass, Secretary of State Husted said previously that the monopoly-ban would take effect immediately, effectively nullifying the ResponsibleOhio marijuana proposal which wouldn't take effect for 30 days.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana legalization backers submit 695,000 signatures | The Columbus Dispatch
Author: Alan Johnson
Contact: ajohnson@dispatch.com
Photo Credit: Liz Essley Whyte
Website: The Columbus Dispatch | Central Ohio News, Sports, Arts & Classifieds
ResponsibleOhio submitted boxes from 72 counties with 695,000 names on a petition to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to place an constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot to legalize marijuana for personal and medicinal use for Ohioans 21 and older.
ResponsibleOhio needs 305,591 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters to qualify for the fall ballot.
"This is about allowing voters to do what the Statehouse has not been willing to do for the past 18 years," said Ian James, a leader of the effort. "We want to make sure the voters have the right to be heard."
If approved, marijuana could be grown at 10 pre-selected sites around the state, or in small quantities by individuals at home. Marijuana and marijuana products would be sold at 1,100 retail locations and at medical dispensaries.
Sales would be taxed at all levels, with most of the proceeds earmarked for local governments.
At the same time, state lawmakers were hurriedly try to finalize and approve an anti-monopoly plan to try to derail the marijuana issue at the ballot box.
House Joint Resolution 4 was being negotiated this afternoon in a Senate committee and will presumably head to the floor for a vote. It was previously approved by the House.
The measure, as originally drafted, It would make it more difficult for a "monopoly or special economic interest" to submit a proposed amendment to the state constitution. Such a proposal would have to go to the voters in two separate elections — once to bypass the monopoly provision and a second time for a vote on the proposal itself.
The showdown between ResponsibleOhio's marijuana legalization proposal and the legislature's anti-monopoly plan would come at the Nov. 3 election.
If both issues were to pass, Secretary of State Husted said previously that the monopoly-ban would take effect immediately, effectively nullifying the ResponsibleOhio marijuana proposal which wouldn't take effect for 30 days.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana legalization backers submit 695,000 signatures | The Columbus Dispatch
Author: Alan Johnson
Contact: ajohnson@dispatch.com
Photo Credit: Liz Essley Whyte
Website: The Columbus Dispatch | Central Ohio News, Sports, Arts & Classifieds
