State officials and cannabis legalization advocates reached a deal on Friday, agreeing to allow the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol to retain the signatures they’ve already collected while delaying their campaign until 2023. The Coalition agreed to delay its legalization campaign until next year in exchange for state officials agreeing to accept the more than 140,000 signatures the coalition had already collected, instead of potentially making them start over from scratch.“This guarantees the validity of the signatures we’ve already gathered, and we’ve got a much clearer path if we have to get to the ballot next year,” said Tom Haren, a spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol per Cleveland.com. The Coalition, meanwhile, recently sued after House Republicans refused to take up the marijuana legalization law the group had proposed under a state mechanism called an ‘initiated statute,’ through which members of the public can propose new laws. The House GOP pushed back saying that the group submitted its signatures too late anyhow to be considered during this year’s legislative session.
Benzinga Staff Writer, The Fresh Toast, 05/14/2022 10:00:00