Voters in more than a dozen Ohio cities had the chance to weigh in on marijuana reform on their ballots on Tuesday, and seven of those jurisdictions ultimately approved local measures to decriminalize cannabis. Going into Election Day, 22 jurisdictions across the state had already adopted local statutes effectively decriminalizing possession, some of which have been passed by voter initiatives while others were adopted by city councils. In most of the municipalities where marijuana was on the ballot this week, the text of the proposal simply said, “shall [jurisdiction] adopt the Sensible Marihuana Ordinance, which lowers the penalty for misdemeanor marijuana offenses to the lowest penalty allowed by State Law?” Others were lengthier and spelled out changes to local statutes, specifying that “if the amount of the drug involved is less than two hundred grams, possession of marihuana is a minor misdemeanor drug abuse offense” and that “persons convicted of violating this section shall be fined $0.00.”Voters in Martins Ferry, Murray City, New Lexington, New Straitsville, Rayland, Tiltonsville and Yorkville approved the decriminalization proposals.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 11/03/2021 10:55:00