A campaign in Ohio to legalize recreational cannabis has turned in more than 200,000 signatures to the secretary of state in support of its proposed adult-use cannabis law.
According to a news release, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CRMLA) collected and submitted 206,943 signatures of registered voters, though only 132,887 must be valid for the proposed statute to go before state lawmakers.
If the group is successful in collecting enough valid signatures spread across at least 44 counties, the first stop for the proposed adult-use statute is the Ohio Legislature, where lawmakers will be given the option of adopting it themselves.
If lawmakers decline to enact the proposal within four months after the secretary of state’s certification of the submitted signatures, then the campaign will be given an opportunity to collect a second round of 132,887 signatures to get the proposal on the statewide 2022 ballot.
Ohio lawmakers have already promised two possible bills to legalize adult-use marijuana, but according to legislative records, only one has been introduced.
And that bill hasn’t moved since being referred to the Finance Committee in September.
