Ohio A-G certifies medical MJ petition

VW independent/submitted information

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office on Friday certified the petition for the proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution regarding the legalization of marijuana for medical use.

On March 15, the Attorney General’s Office received a written petition to amend the Ohio Constitution from the group Ohioans for Medical Marijuana.  The submission was certified today as containing both the necessary 1,000 valid signatures from registered Ohio voters and a “fair and truthful” summary of the proposed amendment.

“Without passing upon the advisability of the approval or rejection of the measure to be referred,… I hereby certify that the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed law,” Ohio Attorney Mike General DeWine stated in his certification letter.

Once the summary language and initial signatures are certified, the Ohio Ballot Board must determine if the amendment contains a single issue or multiple issues.  The petitioners must then collect signatures for each issue from registered voters in each of 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, equal to 5 percent of the total vote cast in the county for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election.

Total signatures collected statewide must also equal 10 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election.

The full text of Friday’s letter and of the amendment petitions submitted can be found at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/Petitions