After failing to acquire enough valid signatures last month, ResponsibleOhio has garnered enough signatures to appear on the November ballot, the Secretary of State said.
A measure that would legalize marijuana in Ohio will make its way onto the November ballots, even after failing to receive enough valid signatures in July.
ResponsibleOhio fell 29,509 signatures short of the required 305,591 when they turned in their petitions under the June 30 deadline. Secretary of State Jon Husted then offered the group a ten-day grace period to acquire the additional signatures.
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Since then, petitioners collected an additional 95,572 signatures, which they submitted to the secretary of state on July 30.
Of those signatures, 44,185 were valid, said Joshua Eck, spokesman for Husted. That puts the measure 14,676 signatures above the minimum requirement.
"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," said ResponsibleOhio Executive Director Ian James, who grew up in Athens, in a news release.
The state’s Ballot Board will have until Aug. 18 to finalize the ballot language on the measure.
If passed, the proposal would authorize marijuana to be produced at 10 growing facilities throughout Ohio.
The marijuana would then go to one of five testing facilities, one of which would be in Athens, before being shipped off to retailers.
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The measure would also allow individuals to apply for a home-growing permit, which would allow them to grow up to four plants.
ResponsibleOhio has drawn some criticism over the bill, even by some marijuana advocacy groups, who have argued that the bill would essentially set up a monopoly that only benefits the group’s investors.
One of those investors, Rick Kirk, is the CEO of Hallmark Campus Communities, the company that owns The Summit at Coates Run.
Ohio legislators have also drafted a ballot measure that could overturn ResponsibleOhio’s proposal before it even has a chance to go into effect.
That resolution would prohibit any ballot initiative that creates a monopoly or grants commercial licensing rights to one group over another, according to the senate analysis of the resolution.
If, at a later election, voters approve of such an initiative, the Ohio Ballot Board has the right prevent that initiative from taking effect.
That measure will also be on the Nov. 3 ballot.
In the mean time, ResponsibleOhio members have been working to drum up support for their proposal.
Last week, the group aired a T.V. ad during the first GOP Presidential Debate. That ad was shown five times and directed viewers to ResponsibleOhio’s website to view a series of six videos on the effects of marijuana legalization.
“According to some data that we’ve run, that debate was one of the most watched, if not the most watched, presidential debates,” said Faith Oltman, spokeswoman for ResponsibleOhio. “We certainly know that we reached out to a lot of voters and at least told them about ResponsibleOhio.”
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The group also has another iron on the fire when it comes to ballot proposals.
Last week, ResponsibleOhio announced it would begin circulating petitions for The Fresh Start Act, a measure that would reverse the sentences of people formerly convicted of marijuana-related offenses.
“In a nutshell, it would offer a clean state to folks who have been unfairly punished by marijuana laws that will no longer be in effect,” Oltman said.
That proposal, assuming it obtains enough signatures, is slated to be on the 2016 ballot and would only appear on the ballot if the legalization proposal passes.
“We’re really excited that we’ve made the ballot and that Ohio voters have the choice to legalize marijuana,” Oltman said.
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