The result makes Ohio the 24th state to legalize adult-use cannabis in America.
Recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older is now legal in Ohio. As first reported by NBC News, Ohioans voted on Tuesday to approve a ballot initiative to legalize and regulate "the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home grow, and use of cannabis by adults at least twenty-one years of age."
As a result, Ohio is now the 24th state to enact adult-use marijuana legalization reform in the United States. The measure campaigned for by the Ohio-based advocacy group known as Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA), which submitted a petition this past summer to include the initiative in this year's election ballot, will establish a regulatory framework to allow adults 21 and older to purchase, possess and cultivate cannabis.
"Marijuana is no longer a controversial issue. 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," Tom Haren, spokesperson for the campaign, said in an interview.
"Marijuana is no longer a controversial issue. 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."
- Tom Haren, Spokesperson for CTRMLA
Ohio has enjoyed the health and wellness benefits of its medicinal marijuana program since 2016. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, over three dozen states currently have some form of medical cannabis, with a few more, like North Carolina and North Dakota, contemplating a move to establish medicinal programs.
However, many industry experts view Tuesday's results as a significant shift in the overall national movement to end prohibition. A notoriously conservative state, Ohio is a historically crucial barometer for how the rest of the country will side with a particular presidential candidate or controversial issue. Cannabis legalization advocates see this outcome as part of a steady advance toward legalizing the recreational use of the plant nationwide.
Similar efforts to those by CTRMLA are underway to place adult-use marijuana ballot measures in front of voters in Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota, and other states for the crucially important 2024 election.
"A broad, bipartisan, and diverse array of Ohioans spoke clearly tonight. The time to legalize marijuana has come. I hope the leaders in the legislature will heed their call and honor the will of the vote," Ohio Rep. Casey Weinstein (D), who has championed legalization in the legislature, said following Tuesday's results.
"A broad, bipartisan, and diverse array of Ohioans spoke clearly tonight. The time to legalize marijuana has come. I hope the leaders in the legislature will heed their call and honor the will of the vote."
- Ohio Rep. Casey Weinstein (D)
The approved statute, effective Dec. 7, allows individuals over 21 to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis flower and cultivate up to six plants (or 12 if two or more adults live in the same household). It also stipulates that state officials must establish rules to approve licensed retailers within nine months of the effective date.
The measure will also impose a 10% sales tax on all cannabis sales, with revenue divided among various social equity, jobs, educational, and substance abuse programs. Likewise, the initiative calls for creating a Division of Cannabis Control by the State Department of Commerce to "license, regulate, investigate, and penalize adult-use cannabis operators, adult-use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed."
"Cannabis legalization is an issue that unites Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Ohioans have seen similar legalization laws adopted in neighboring states, and they know that regulating the cannabis market is preferable to the failed policy of prohibition. It is imperative that elected officials respect the voters' decision and implement this measure in a manner that is consistent with the sentiments of the majority of the electorate," NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said on Tuesday.
"Cannabis legalization is an issue that unites Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Ohioans have seen similar legalization laws adopted in neighboring states, and they know that regulating the cannabis market is preferable to the failed policy of prohibition. It is imperative that elected officials respect the voters' decision and implement this measure in a manner that is consistent with the sentiments of the majority of the electorate."
- Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
Armentano’s comments are squarely directed at a group of Republican-led state lawmakers vowing to repeal the measure now that voters have approved it. In the lead-up to the election, President Matt Huffman gave a rousing, if not wholly authentic, speech on the Ohio State Senate floor expressing his intense opposition to Issue 2 (legalization initiative), proclaiming that, if it passes, the legislation will be "coming right back before this body" and will likely receive changes.
Huffman continued his rant by saying, "We're going to have a mental health crisis on our hands. If Issue 2 passes, there will be more teenagers in the state of Ohio committing suicide. We are going to pay for this for years and years and years, and it's only going to get worse."
He later pulled back on his statement, clarifying that he would not be seeking a full repeal of the legalization effort but would instead "advocate for reviewing it and repealing things or changing things that are in it."
Echoing those sentiments, several Ohio lawmakers said last month that it was doubtful the legislature would seek to overturn a voter-passed legalization law. "There are not a majority of legislators in both chambers that would be pro-repeal. That's definitely not the case. You would have no Democrats, and there are not enough Republicans to put them at the top," said Rep. Ron Ferguson (R).
Hopefully, the small minority of dissenting legislators will respect the results of the election and the people's will to establish a safe and regulated adult-use cannabis market in Ohio. If not, their misguided efforts will end much like the fictitious Don Quixote's unwinnable quest to defeat those mighty windmills. The end of prohibition is coming, and woe be it to the outdated and out-of-touch politician who continues to bang the drum of opposition to one of America's most promising and lucrative new industries.
