An Ohio initiative that would legalize marijuana for recreational use officially qualified for this November's ballot yesterday. If successful, it would make Ohio the 24th state to allow cannabis consumption without a doctor's note.
The Ohio Legislature authorized medical use of marijuana in 2016. A February 2022 Emerson College poll found that a bare majority of likely voters (50.4 percent) thought marijuana also "should be legal for recreational purposes," while about 40 percent were opposed and 10 percent were undecided. The cannabis initiative, backed by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol and funded largely by the Marijuana Policy Project, will be presented to voters alongside an initiative that would guarantee abortion rights, which could boost turnout among voters inclined to favor marijuana legalization.
