BY MEGAN HENRY
Don Wirtshafter can’t wait for Dec. 7 — the day marijuana becomes legal in Ohio with the passage of Issue 2.
He is going to celebrate by throwing a party at the Cannabis Museum in Athens, where he is the founder and curator.
“This is a big step forward for Ohio,” said Wirtshafter, who is also an Athens attorney.
Issue 2 — which legalizes and regulates the cultivation, manufacturing, testing and the sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up — received 56.79% of the vote, or 2.183 million voters out of nearly 3.8 million who had cast ballots in the race. That result will remain unofficial until provisional ballots are counted and official results are certified.
Issue 2 also legalizes home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and imposes a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.
Since Issue 2 is a citizen initiative, Ohio lawmakers will ultimately have the final say on the law and Ohio Republican lawmakers have already talked about making changes.
“The General Assembly may consider amending the statute to clarify the questionable language regarding limits for THC and tax rates as well as other parts of the statute,” Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman said in a statement. READ MORE
Also from Ohio Capital Journal:
Issue 1 passed in Ohio, protecting abortion rights — now what?
BY MORGAN TRAU WEWS
Ohioans voted to protect and legalize abortion access Tuesday night, but the fight is not over.
In a 13-point victory, Issue 1 passed.
Even though the constitutional amendment will go into effect in early December, all of the restrictions up until now will need to be settled and dealt with in court.
“All of those things are going to get litigated in the courts as the government proposes rules and plaintiffs attack those rules as being overly restrictive,” Case Western Reserve University law professor Atiba Ellis said.
There are restrictions currently being evaluated by the Ohio Supreme Court, like the six-week ban.
Despite their decisive loss, Statehouse Republicans and anti-abortion groups have plans to stop Issue 1. READ MORE
