Ohio Medical Marijuana Ballot Issue Rejected For Content Flaws

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CFCA America
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine: “I am unable to certify the summary as a fair and truthful statement of the proposed amendment”

​The summary of a second proposed medical marijuana ballot issue in Ohio has been rejected by Attorney General Mike DeWine, who claimed it was rejected for a half-dozen “content flaws.”

In a letter Friday to the Ohio Coalition for Medical Compassion, DeWine admitted that 1,344 signatures were valid of 2,365 submitted with the proposal on September 7, reports Alan Johnson at The Columbus Dispatch. Only 1,000 valid signatures are needed.
But DeWine claimed a litany of problems, including numerous provisions that were left out of the proposed ballot summary, one section that was misstated, and one item included that was not part of the full amendment (a $2 million loan for the proposed Division of Medical Cannabis Control to hire personnel, lease office space and purchase equipment).

“For all of these reasons, I am unable to certify the summary as a fair and truthful statement of the proposed amendment,” DeWine said.
The proposed Ohio Medical Cannabis Act of 2012 would establish a regulatory system based on the Ohio State Liquor Control system. Marijuana purchases would require a doctor’s authorization and would be subject to state and local sales taxes.
Patients could buy 60 grams of marijuana at a time, and possess and transport up to 200 grams (about seven ounces). They could also grow up to 12 cannabis plants for personal use. Permits would be required to cultivate and sell marijuana.
The submission of ballot summary language is the first step towards placing a statewide issue on the ballot. Once the attorney general approves the wording (the group will get another chance to get it right), the coalition can begin collecting 385,245 signatures, the number required to qualify for the ballot.
Back in July, another group had submitted a separate ballot summary for the Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment, but DeWine rejected that one because it didn’t have enough signatures.
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