COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office on Friday approved summary language in a petition to legalize marijuana use and sales in the state.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol wants to make it legal for adults 21 and older to buy and possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow as many as six plants inside their homes.
Earlier this month Yost rejected the first version of the petition’s summary language, listing seven deficiencies. On Friday he concluded the resubmitted summary represented “a fair and truthful representation” of the proposed change to Ohio law.
The measure goes next to the Ohio Ballot Board, which must certify whether it contains one or multiple laws. If the board signs off, the coalition then needs to gather 133,000 valid signatures to submit the proposed state law to the Ohio Legislature, which will have four months to act.
If it does not, the measure would be placed on the Ohio ballot.
Medical marijuana dispensaries, processors and cultivators could seek licenses for recreational marijuana and have exclusive rights for two years under the proposed law.
The Legislature legalized medical marijuana in 2016. Ohio’s first dispensaries opened in January 2019.
