COLUMBUS, Ohio — Secretary of State Frank LaRose cleared away the last hurdle for a drive to block portions of Ohio’s marijuana and hemp regulations to move toward getting an issue before voters.
LaRose on Tuesday verified that Ohioans for Cannabis Choice submitted at least 1,000 valid voter signatures needed on petition summary language to allow the issue to move forward.
That action, coupled with Attorney General Dave Yost certifying the group’s revised petition summary language, allows the group to begin gathering signatures to place the measure on the November ballot.
The proposed referendum seeks to repeal much of Senate Bill 56, which Gov. Mike DeWine signed in December. The petition would repeal provisions related to the regulation, criminalization and taxation of cannabis products.
“Full steam ahead. We’re going to be hitting the streets, collecting signatures all across Ohio because people are angry and want to sign on the line to vote no on SB 56 to stop government overreach, no to closing 6,000 small businesses and killing thousands of jobs, and no to denying consumers the right to purchase products they want,” Dennis Willard, spokesperson for Ohioans for Cannabis Choice, said in a statement.
The campaign is racing against a tight schedule and only has until the law takes effect in mid-March to collect and submit signatures equal to 6% of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election, or roughly 250,000. Those signatures must come from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
Yost initially rejected the group’s initial petition last month, saying that it did not accurately reflect SB 56. He cited inaccuracies and misleading statements that he said could confuse potential petition signers.
The group then resubmitted revised summary language and additional signatures.
“My certification should not be construed as an affirmation of the enforceability and constitutionality of the referendum petition,” Yost wrote in the letter certifying the petition.
Ohioans for Cannabis Choice says that it supports proper regulation, testing protocols, age-gating products for those only over 21, proper licensing, and a framework that keeps access while allowing for proper regulation for a successful state model that others will look to follow.
