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Marijuana amendment heads to the ballot

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Greene County News Report

COLUMBUS — A proposed marijuana legalization amendment to the Ohio Constitution will head to the November ballot for voters to consider. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced that the petitioning group, ResponsibleOhio, had gathered enough signatures to place the amendment on the ballot Wednesday.

The proposed amendment would add a new section to the Ohio Constitution to provide for the legalization of the use of medical marijuana, as well as the use of marijuana and marijuana-infused products for personal use. The amendment would established an “Ohio Marijuana Control Commission” that would regulate the growth and sale of such products through ten site-specific locations throughout the state.

“It’s time for marijuana legalization in Ohio, and voters will have the opportunity to make it happen this November–we couldn’t be more excited,” ResponsibleOhio Executive Director Ian James stated in a release following the announcement. “Drug dealers don’t care about doing what’s best for our state and its citizens. By reforming marijuana laws in November, we’ll provide compassionate care to sick Ohioans, bring money back to our local communities and establish a new industry with limitless economic development opportunities.”

ResponsibleOhio collected a little more than 44,000 additional, supplemental signatures to the approximately 276,000 signatures it submitted for consideration at the end of June, bringing the group’s total signatures up over the threshold necessary to present an amendment to voters.

Now that all the constitutional and legal requirements have been met to place the matter before voters statewide, the Ohio Ballot Board will meet Aug. 18 to approve ballot language for voters for this and two other issues to consider in the fall election, Nov. 3.

Greene County News Report compiled by Nathan Pilling.