Ohio voters decisively adopted a ballot item legalizing recreational marijuana use, possession, and sales for people 21 and older. As of this morning, votes supporting the ballot initiative, known as Issue 2, outnumbered votes against by 57-43%, with fewer than 2% of ballots yet to be counted.
The ballot proposition was opposed by Governor Mike DeWine, the state Chamber of Commerce, state prosecutors, and the majority of Republicans in the General Assembly. That resistance might render Ohio voters' wishes moot. If a citizen-led initiative is successful in Ohio, it moves on to the state legislature, where it may be amended or even overturned by the Republican-controlled chamber. Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman has stated that repeal is possible.
If state legislators do not overturn the bill, possession and home cultivation will become legal on December 7, making Ohio the 24th state with legal recreational marijuana. The state has had an authorized medicinal marijuana program since 2016. Ohio is the eighth most populated state in the nation, with about 12 million people.
Marijuana Moment reports that the ballot initiative comprises the following components:
- Legalizes possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis flower and up to 15 grams of concentrates per adult.
- Allows for the cultivation of up to six plants per adult, with a maximum of 12 plants per household.
- Establishes a 10% retail tax on recreational cannabis sales (in addition to the state's current 5.75 percent sales tax and municipal sales taxes).
- Creates a Division of Cannabis Control within the Ohio Department of Commerce with the ability to "license, regulate, investigate, and penalize adult-use cannabis operators, adult-use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed"
The ballot initiative also establishes specified timelines for the state to grant production and retail sales permits, as well as allowing existing medicinal marijuana firms to apply first for recreational licenses. It might take a year or more before all aspects of the legal market are in place.
The legislation does not provide for the automatic erasure of criminal convictions for actions that would suddenly be considered legal.
