Ohio AG certifies marijuana ballot issue
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine has signed off on initial paperwork filed by a group that wants to legalize marijuana in Ohio.
“Without passing upon the advisability of the approval or rejection of the measure to be referred, I hereby certify that the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed law,” DeWine wrote Friday.
DeWine’s certification of ResponsibleOhio’s petition language sends the proposed ballot issue to the Ohio Ballot Board for its consideration.
That panel, which is headed by Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted, must meet in the next 10 days to review the language and determine whether it is one or multiple issues to place before voters.
After the board gives its approval, backers will be allowed to begin collecting the 300,000-plus signatures required to qualify for the ballot.
“Voters deserve a thoughtful conversation on this important issue, and we are eager to continue this conversation in the coming months,” Lydia Bolander, spokeswoman for ResponsibleOhio, said in a released statement.
ResponsibleOhio has proposed the creation of a control commission to regulate marijuana production and sales in the state.
The amendment outlines 10 sites where marijuana could be grown, including locations in Hudson in Summit County and Alliance in Stark County, and five testing facilities to check drug supplies for potency and safety, including a site in Mahoning County.
Retail sales of the drug would be taxed at 5 percent, while growers and processors would pay a 15 percent tax on their purchases.
The ballot language also would allow anyone 21 or older to grow up to four marijuana plants at home, as long as they have obtained permits in advance and the growing area is secure.
Proponents earlier this week projected that marijuana legalization, as they have outlined in the ballot issue, would generate $2.3 billion in sales of the drug annually and tax revenues of more than a half-billion dollars.
Gov. John Kasich and other statewide Republican officeholders have said they oppose the proposed ballot issue. DeWine has called it a “stupid idea.”
“Despite the ‘ready-shoot-aim’ start we have seen from the pot cartel investors, their multimillion dollar campaign is for real,” Jon Allison, spokesman for the Drug Free Action Alliance, said in a statement after DeWine’s certification Friday.
“What they want to put in our state constitution is centered on a singular theme and desire, and it is, purely and simply, greed,” Allison said.