MPP Suspends Ohio Medical Cannabis Campaign

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The Marijuana Policy Project announced it has suspended its Ohio campaign to legalize medical cannabis, leaving MMJ’s fate in Ohio to Gov. John Kasich.

The Republican governor must decide whether he will sign into law a medical marijuana legalization measure the Ohio legislature approved last week.

MPP had been backing Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, the formal campaign to legalize medical cannabis in the state this November. Until Saturday, it looked as though it was well on its way to making the ballot and winning decisively, with polls solidly in favor of medical cannabis.

But MPP changed its mind after the state legislature’s action. The group said over the weekend that obtaining the resources necessary to mount a successful campaign is “incredibly difficult,” and that the legislature’s MMJ bill is “a moderately good piece of legislation.”

The Ohio medical cannabis legislation ia a narrower measure than that pushed by MPP, which would have established likely a much larger cannabis industry in the state.

The campaign said in a press release that it intends to continue working as an advocacy organization on behalf of MMJ patients, and to ensure the legislation is implemented and improved.

But campaign manager Brandon Lynaugh said in the statement that “this campaign to put our issue on the 2016 ballot ends today.”