Ohio voters say yes and legalize recreational marijuana

Recreational marijuana has been given the green light in Ohio as voters overwhelmingly approved State Issue 2 on Tuesday. With this landmark decision, adults in Ohio can now legally enjoy the benefits of marijuana for recreational use.

With all precincts counted, the final, unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State indicate that the vote was 56.97% in favor of the measure and 43.03% against it.

“Marijuana is no longer a controversial issue,” said Tom Haren, spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which gathered petitions to put the issue on the ballot.“ Ohioans demonstrated this by passing State Issue 2 in a landslide. Ohioans are being extremely clear on the future they want for our state: adult-use marijuana legal and regulated.”

Issue 2 permits adults 21 and over to legally use and grow marijuana, starting on Dec. 7, according to Haren. The new law expands legal use beyond the medical marijuana law approved by the Ohio Legislature in 2016.

Opponents of Issue 2 consisted of public health and mental health advocates, law enforcement, business groups, and various stakeholders. Their primary contention was that marijuana poses significant health risks, and legalizing it would result in the undue enrichment of marijuana companies, while simultaneously exposing children to the drug. Additionally, opponents argued that legalization would escalate the likelihood of crime and workplace injuries, as well as create dangerous driving conditions.

Issue 2 will:

– Allow adults age 21 or older to buy marijuana from licensed dispensaries.

– Allow people to cultivate six marijuana plants at a time, with a limit of 12 per household, without a license. It would be illegal to sell home grown marijuana.

– Expand Ohio’s medical marijuana system, offering licensed cultivators and dispensaries the chance to sell recreational marijuana, and also offering licenses to new applicants, including through a social equity and jobs program.

– Prohibit advertising to minors and mandate setbacks to keep recreational dispensaries away from schools.

– Tax each purchase at 10%. That money would be split 3% to cover regulatory efforts; 25% toward a substance abuse and addiction services fund; 36% toward a fund to create loans, grants and technical assistance to minority or disadvantaged business owners in the industry; and 36% toward revenue for local governments where recreational businesses exist.