On Thursday (August 24) the Ohio Ballot Board approved ballot language for its adult-use cannabis legalisation bill, which will now be known as State Issue 2.
The specific wording, content, and provisions of the bill, which seeks to legalise, regulate and tax adult-use cannabis sales was unanimously backed by the republican-controlled board.
As Business of Cannabis recently reported, the proposals were submitted through a citizens-initiated statute led by campaign group Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CRMLA), meaning that the amendment can be overturned.
This is driving concerns that the bill’s opponents, who came out publicly against the proposals last week, could do just that.
READ MORE: Ohio Will Vote on Cannabis Legalisation in November
Ohio’s Governor Mike Dewine told the Governor’s Executive Workforce Board last week that the reforms would be a ‘real mistake’, citing the ‘unmitigated disaster’ he has heard about from physicians and law enforcement in Colorada.
Meanwhile, this week the Ohio Association of Health Commissioners (AOHC), which represents the state’s 112 local health departments, also told citizens to vote against the bill.
In a press release AOHC Executive Director Beth Bickford said: “Making marijuana more accessible through legal recreational use and retail sales hurts Ohio, creates serious new risks for children’s health” and makes “workplaces and highways less safe.”
