TOPLINE

Antonio Pequeño IV

Forbes Staff

Recreational marijuana will be legalized in Ohio following the approval of a statewide ballot measure that enables adults 21 and up to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana — a change that will make Ohio the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

KEY FACTS

The Associated Press called the vote at 9:37 p.m. Eastern time

55.8% of voters favored the measure, known as Issue 2 on the statewide ballot, while 42% voted against it as of 9:44 p.m., according to the New York Times.

The Ohio counties containing Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo all supported the measure, with Franklin County holding the highest number of “yes” votes.

Most of the state’s more rural northwestern counties, including Williams, Putnam and Mercer, voted against the measure.

The measure will also enact a 10% tax on marijuana sales that will generate revenue designated for a cannabis social equity program that will give financial support and license support to people who were affected by marijuana prohibition laws that also want to get into the marijuana business.

BIG NUMBER

59%. That’s how many U.S. adults believe marijuana should be legalized for those over the age of 21, according to the most recent Pew Research Center polling.

CHIEF CRITIC

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine pushed against the measure, citing concerns it would result in more children accidentally consuming edible marijuana products, saying the “little bit of money” it would generate wouldn’t be worth “the damage to the people of Ohio,” according to Spectrum News.

KEY BACKGROUND

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol led the support campaign for the measure and has argued that regulating marijuana in the same fashion as alcohol would generate new tax revenue, dry up the black market for marijuana in Ohio and expand marijuana access for medical purposes. The coalition made nearly $5.8 million in contributions to support the initiative, according to Ballotpedia. The legalization of recreational marijuana in states such as California, Arizona, Oklahoma and Kansas resulted in fewer marijuana-related arrests and court cases, according to a 2019 Justice Department report, which also found there were no “noticeable indications” of a jump in transportation-related arrests in states along the northern and southern borders of states that had legalized marijuana.