Former OH Lawmaker Joins Cannabis Legalization Campaign

Former state Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney, a Democrat from Cincinnati, has been hired by a well-funded campaign in Ohio attempting to legalize both recreational and medical marijuana this November.

The news is just the latest indication that ResponsibleOhio, the group leading the campaign, is a serious political entity with a careful, calculated strategy and tens of millions in financial resources behind it.

Kearney will reportedly be involved mostly in voter outreach and organizing in southwest Ohio, according to Cleveland.com. Kearney will serve as a senior adviser to the campaign. He spent nine years in the state Senate, from 2005 to 2014.

ResponsibleOhio, which has drawn criticism for writing a legalization measure that will allow for only 10 cultivation sites to supply the entire market in the state, is virtually guaranteed to appear on the ballot this November. The campaign announced earlier this month that it has already collected well above the roughly 306,000 signatures it needs to qualify for the ballot, and is well on the way to turning in over 700,000.