https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVsyAho1FUg?rel=0
An Ohio group called ResponsibleOhio released new details about its proposal to legalize marijuana use in Ohio — a proposal that could be on the ballot as early as November of this year.
If everything goes as planned for Responsible Ohio, any Ohioan over 21 could legally buy and use marijuana by the summer of 2016.
Of course, there are other groups out there who are totally against the idea.
But ResponsibleOhio has laid out some rules that they hope will convince their opponents.
Four states have already legalized the use of marijuana despite federal law — Colorado, Washington Alaska and Oregon.
First, there would be a new marijuana control commission charged with creating, auditing and enforcing new regulations. The commission would include a licensed physician, a law enforcement officer and five others.
Next up is taxes.
Marijuana will be taxed at 15 percent, higher than any of the four states legalized use. The tax money would be split among state, county, and local governments, with 55 percent of it staying local.
However, medical marijuana would be available to patients tax-free as long as a physician says a person has a debilitating medical condition, like cancer, glaucoma or AlS, to name a few.
Finally, it addresses growth and retail sale.
The proposal limits the number of stores to one per 10,000 residents, or about 1,150 stores across the state. Those stores can only sell marijuana that is grown at one of 10 grow-sites that will likely be run by the same investors who are funding efforts to pass this new law.
ResponsibleOhio has not yet released the names of investors supporting their cause. They say that will come at a later time. For now, they’ll submit their proposal to the Ohio Attorney General next month, then they’ll need to collect a little over 300,000 signatures before it’s put to a vote this November.