VOTE TODAY: Ohio Considers Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
In Ohio, medical marijuana has been okayed since 2016, and some of our neighboring states like Michigan and New York have recently given the green light to recreational pot use.
Besides all the buzz about the abortion rights amendment on Ohio's ballot, voters are also facing another big question: Should we make recreational marijuana legal?
The proposed law isn't all that different from what's been passed in 23 other states. If it's approved, folks in Ohio who are 21 and older can buy and have up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis. They can also grow up to six plants individually, but no more than 12 in a home with multiple adults.
The products would come with a 10 percent tax, and the money would be used for things like handling administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, supporting municipalities with dispensaries, and helping out with a social equity and jobs program. One study predicts that making marijuana legal could boost Ohio's economy by about $260 million every year.
A recent poll from Ohio Northern University found that about 65 percent of people support legalizing marijuana.
Ohio has allowed medical marijuana since 2016, and lots of other states (37 in total) also permit it. Historically, Ohio has been relatively chill about marijuana use. There's even a famous strain called "Meigs County Gold" that's been grown near Ohio University in Athens and has been a moneymaker for the state's southeast region.
Some political experts think that putting both abortion rights and recreational marijuana on the ballot, without any official party tie, could make people from different parties come together on these issues.
"The fact that these are issue elections, and there is no party officially tied to each of the ballot measures, that probably helps both of those issues," said Robert Alexander, the founding director of the Institute for Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University, in a recent interview with The New Republic.
Besides all the buzz about the abortion rights amendment on Ohio's ballot, voters are also facing another big question: Should we make recreational marijuana legal?
The proposed law isn't all that different from what's been passed in 23 other states. If it's approved, folks in Ohio who are 21 and older can buy and have up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis. They can also grow up to six plants individually, but no more than 12 in a home with multiple adults.
The products would come with a 10 percent tax, and the money would be used for things like handling administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, supporting municipalities with dispensaries, and helping out with a social equity and jobs program. One study predicts that making marijuana legal could boost Ohio's economy by about $260 million every year.
A recent poll from Ohio Northern University found that about 65 percent of people support legalizing marijuana.
Ohio has allowed medical marijuana since 2016, and lots of other states (37 in total) also permit it. Historically, Ohio has been relatively chill about marijuana use. There's even a famous strain called "Meigs County Gold" that's been grown near Ohio University in Athens and has been a moneymaker for the state's southeast region.
Some political experts think that putting both abortion rights and recreational marijuana on the ballot, without any official party tie, could make people from different parties come together on these issues.
"The fact that these are issue elections, and there is no party officially tied to each of the ballot measures, that probably helps both of those issues," said Robert Alexander, the founding director of the Institute for Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University, in a recent interview with The New Republic.
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
