Ohio recreational marijuana campaign submits extra signatures to state for legalization effort

A coalition of Ohio medical marijuana businesses behind an effort to legalize the drug for recreational adult use submitted extra signatures Thursday, hoping to make up a shortfall in the number of registered voters needed to get the proposal on the ballot in November.

The 29,918 new signatures were submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, which on Jan. 3 told the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol that it fell short the required number of signatures by 13,062.

State law requires 132,887 valid signatures and only 119,825 of the coalition’s initially submitted 206,943 were valid.

“We feel confident that we will meet the signature requirements and look forward to the legislature taking up an issue that a majority of Ohioans support this year,” Tom Haren, a Cleveland attorney who is the coalition’s spokesman, in a prepared statement.

Next, the county boards of elections will verify the new signatures, ensuring signees are registered to vote, live where they said they live and don’t sign more than once, among other verifications. If the campaign has enough valid signatures, then the proposal will be presented to the Ohio General Assembly, which has four months to consider and enact legislation based on it. [Read more at Cleveland.com]