Robert Celt
New Member
The Ohio Ballot Board has given the green light to a second group proposing to amend the state constitution to allow the use of medical marijuana to begin collecting signatures.
Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted and the other four members of the panel agreed April 14 that the Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Amendment represented a single issue, and backers could begin circulation petitions to place the issue before voters.
Proponents will need to gather more than 300,000 valid signatures from registered voters by early July to qualify for this year's general election.
Last month the Ballot Board signed off on a separate amendment effort, backed by the national Marijuana Policy Project and calling for the creation of a control commission to oversee the regulation of medical marijuana in the state.
Republicans in the Ohio House this past week also announced medical marijuana legislation, with an eye toward passage before lawmakers break for the summer.
The Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Amendment reviewed by the Ballot Board April 14 does not detail how medical marijuana would be regulated. Instead, it "guarantees the right of residents" to "possess, process, transport, use, share and cultivate" marijuana for medical purposes, with the state given power to tax and regulate production, sales and use.
Additionally, "Residents shall have the right to farm, process and conduct commerce in industrial hemp, for all lawful purposes, including but not limited to paper, seed oil, food, body care products, fuel, building materials, auto parts and clothing. Industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis shall be researched, regulated and promoted by the state in a manner substantially similar to other agricultural crops."
Don Wirtshafter, an attorney from Athens County who is representing the amendment backers, left open the possibility of pursuing an initiated statute outlining how medical marijuana would be regulated, though he acknowledged the approval process would be daunting. The resulting petition paperwork would be a couple of hundred pages, which would be difficult to circulate.
"We're working on it," Wirtshafter said, adding, "We'd really like to define the regulatory system that we think the legislature should adopt in the wake of our amendment."
[See also - 10 things to know about Ohio's primary election next month]
Wirthshafter called the Ohio House medical marijuana legislation announced this week "a very timid first step."
"I believe that our initiative is necessary because it will force the legislature to look at this more realistically in view of the modern science on the subject," he said. "And I believe that the presence of our initiative will force the legislature into opening this program up and making it useful for the patients of Ohio."
He added concerning the petition process, "It's truly a matter of money. Hopefully now we have the momentum that people see we're actually out there and we will get the funding we need to get this over the hump. We have until July 8/ it's certainly doable."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ohio Ballot Board Gives Green Light To Second Group Favoring Medical Marijuana
Author: Marc Kovac
Contact: Twinsburg Bulletin
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Twinsburg Bulletin
Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted and the other four members of the panel agreed April 14 that the Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Amendment represented a single issue, and backers could begin circulation petitions to place the issue before voters.
Proponents will need to gather more than 300,000 valid signatures from registered voters by early July to qualify for this year's general election.
Last month the Ballot Board signed off on a separate amendment effort, backed by the national Marijuana Policy Project and calling for the creation of a control commission to oversee the regulation of medical marijuana in the state.
Republicans in the Ohio House this past week also announced medical marijuana legislation, with an eye toward passage before lawmakers break for the summer.
The Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Amendment reviewed by the Ballot Board April 14 does not detail how medical marijuana would be regulated. Instead, it "guarantees the right of residents" to "possess, process, transport, use, share and cultivate" marijuana for medical purposes, with the state given power to tax and regulate production, sales and use.
Additionally, "Residents shall have the right to farm, process and conduct commerce in industrial hemp, for all lawful purposes, including but not limited to paper, seed oil, food, body care products, fuel, building materials, auto parts and clothing. Industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis shall be researched, regulated and promoted by the state in a manner substantially similar to other agricultural crops."
Don Wirtshafter, an attorney from Athens County who is representing the amendment backers, left open the possibility of pursuing an initiated statute outlining how medical marijuana would be regulated, though he acknowledged the approval process would be daunting. The resulting petition paperwork would be a couple of hundred pages, which would be difficult to circulate.
"We're working on it," Wirtshafter said, adding, "We'd really like to define the regulatory system that we think the legislature should adopt in the wake of our amendment."
[See also - 10 things to know about Ohio's primary election next month]
Wirthshafter called the Ohio House medical marijuana legislation announced this week "a very timid first step."
"I believe that our initiative is necessary because it will force the legislature to look at this more realistically in view of the modern science on the subject," he said. "And I believe that the presence of our initiative will force the legislature into opening this program up and making it useful for the patients of Ohio."
He added concerning the petition process, "It's truly a matter of money. Hopefully now we have the momentum that people see we're actually out there and we will get the funding we need to get this over the hump. We have until July 8/ it's certainly doable."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Ohio Ballot Board Gives Green Light To Second Group Favoring Medical Marijuana
Author: Marc Kovac
Contact: Twinsburg Bulletin
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Twinsburg Bulletin