Columbus, OH – PRESS RELEASE – Today the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol was notified by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office that they have submitted sufficient valid signatures to qualify the initiative for the next phase of the process. The news comes after CRMLA submitted 29,918 additional signatures in support of an initiated statute legalizing the adult use of marijuana to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office on Jan. 13. Local boards of elections determined that 16,904 of the additional signatures were valid.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has transmitted the initiative to Ohio legislators, kicking off a four-month process during which legislators will have the opportunity to debate and vote on the initiative. If legislators fail to take action on the initiative, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will have the opportunity to collect an additional 132,877 signatures this summer in order to present the issue to Ohio voters on the Nov. 8, 2022, ballot.

“We are ready and eager to work with Ohio legislators over the next four months to legalize the adult use of marijuana in Ohio,” said spokesman Tom Haren. “We are also fully prepared to collect additional signatures and take this issue directly to voters on Nov. 8, 2022, if legislators fail to act.”