(C) Ohio Capital Journal
This unaltered story was originally published by Ohio Capital Journal
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Ohio Democratic representatives file ‘joint’ bill to legalize recreational weed on 4/20 [1]
['Morgan Trau', 'More From Author', '- April']
Date: 2022-04-22 00:00:00
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
April 20 — or World Weed Day — was the perfect day for Ohio lawmakers to introduce a new recreational marijuana bill.
The unofficial holiday, 4/20, is a day when smokers celebrate the drug. It is also when Cannabis Lobby Day took place at the Ohio Statehouse.
Juan Collado with the Sensible Movement Coalition is just one of the hundreds of thousands of Ohioans for the legalization of recreational weed.
“We’re very pro-cannabis in the family,” Collado said. “I mean, the suit says a lot.”
Collado was donned in a head-to-toe marijuana leaf suit (In case you are curious, he got it from Amazon, $50).
“I want to show that I’m supporting and I’m here for it,” he added.
Early in the morning, Representatives Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) and Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland) invited News 5 to join them as they filed bill language to formally introduce the Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use Cannabis. This is the initiated statute sponsored by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.
This comes after the Coalition submitted a petition that received about 207,000 signatures, surpassing the amount needed to move forward in the process to make it a ballot initiative.
“We’re taking matters into our own hands and we are today filing a bill that will be responsive to the voters, the hundreds of thousands who signed those petitions and the millions who agree with them that it’s time to legalize,” Weinstein said. “We think it’s time to heed the will of the voters. We think this time has come for Ohio, and we’re ready to take some action on it today.”
This Act would allow for cultivation, possession of up to 2.5 ounces, and use by adults ages 21-years-old and older.
“This is one of those moments where it’s time to be bold — it’s time to stand up, take action now,” Upchurch said. “The good thing about our democracy is if our elected representatives move too slow, the people have the ability to move faster.”
If the General Assembly fails to pass the language within the four-month deadline of the initiative submission, which was Jan. 28, the Coalition has the option to collect additional signatures to submit the proposal directly to the voters in November. That deadline is May 28. They would need about 130,000 more signatures to get it on the ballot, but they can’t do anything until the deadline passes.
“We’re sending a message today to GOP leadership here and to the voters of Ohio,” Weinstein added.
Although the bill has bipartisan support, the lawmakers aren’t happy with the GOP leadership, they said. They have barely responded to the ballot initiative, they added.
“I think there are some concerns based upon misconception and misinformation,” Upchurch said. “I think that that’s been the job of Representative Weinstein and I as we introduced our bill last year, which was to inform voters and inform Ohioans why this is important and why Ohio is missing the mark.”
The pair introduced House Bill (HB) 382 in July 2021, making it the first legislative effort to legalize cannabis in Ohio. HB 382 still hasn’t had its first hearing.
“As it relates to recreational marijuana, I’m not in favor of it,” Senate President Matt Huffman said to the press in February. “I’m not going to vote for it, I’m not going to support it.”
John Fortney, Huffman’s spokesperson, said that Huffman’s view hasn’t changed.
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