COLUMBUS, Ohio –A coalition that wants to legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio filed a 129-page lawsuit against a handful of state officials in hopes that a Franklin County judge will allow voters to decide the cannabis question at the polls in November.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol argued in its complaint that its proposed law – which would allow Ohioans age 21 and older to purchase, possess and grow marijuana, with a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction – should be on track for voter approval this year, it said in its lawsuit.
But state officials argued that lawmakers and voters shouldn’t act on the proposed initiated statute until 2023. This includes House GOP attorney Heather Blessing, who advises House Speaker Bob Cupp.
The matter is before Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye, who issued a case schedule last week that shows his ruling could come the first week of June.
In the meantime, attorneys for both sides are working on legal briefs for the case. No briefs have yet been submitted on behalf of Cupp or Senate President Matt Huffman. Blessing said that it is policy not to comment on pending litigation.
As part of the process of getting an initiated statute on the ballot, the legislature gets to take the first stab at creating a law based on it.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol believes that the four months began Jan. 28 and ends May 28, based on a Jan. 28 letter to the coalition from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who had told the coalition he was sending it to lawmakers for their consideration.
LaRose is a defendant in the case, along with Cupp and Huffman. His spokesman won’t on the matter.
But since the Republican-dominated legislature has no appetite for legalizing recreational marijuana, much of the focus of the lawsuit is on when voters get to decide the question. The question isn’t without consequences for the November election.
Ohioans who strongly favor recreational marijuana are expected to turn out in support of the measure. They could mark ballots for other races, including the governor, state legislature, Congress, the U.S. Senate and the Ohio Supreme Court.
Although marijuana legalization has historically been a progressive and libertarian issue, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has long stated that marijuana issues no longer fall along the partisan lines. It doesn’t mention any political implications of Republicans wanting to delay the marijuana election.
Instead, it looks at dollars and cents.
Brandon Lynaugh, president of Battleground Strategies, which is running the marijuana coalition’s campaign, said in an affidavit that if the legislature doesn’t act by May 28, then the campaign has until July 6 to collect a minimum of 132,887 signatures to get on the November ballot.
He’s working with Advanced Micro Targeting, which collects signatures and provided him a quote of at least $2.3 million.
“The relatively high fee is due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: the compressed time period for the collection; the need to meet minimums (of signatures) from at least 44 counties; the likelihood that it will be necessary to redeploy (signature gatherers if not enough signatures are valid)… the current tight labor market; and the need to use only experienced petition canvassers due to the lack of time to train new canvassers,” he said in the affidavit.
Additionally, Lynaugh estimated costs for legal and accounting fees to be at least $100,000.
The Ohio Constitution describes how citizens can get an initiative passed in Sections 1b, which states the secretary of state must transmit to the General Assembly a petition for a law at least 10 days before the commencement of a session of the General Assembly if the petition garnered enough signatures in the first round of signature-gathering.
The second part of the current 134th session of the General Assembly began on Jan. 3. The 135th session begins next January.
The marijuana coalition first submitted signatures on Dec. 20. However, LaRose’s office told the coalition it fell short of the required number of signatures by 13,062 on Jan. 3. LaRose gave it an extra 10 days to collect them under the state’s “cure” period when signature campaigns can address deficiencies in the petitions they’ve submitted. The campaign got the additional signatures to cure the deficiency by then.
The lawsuit shows an email Blessing, the House Republican attorney, wrote on Jan. 7 to the Ohio Attorney General’s office. In it, she argued that all the signatures should have been submitted by the end of December, and that the marijuana coalition fell short. She wrote that LaRose “must withhold transmitting the petition until the first regular session of the 135th” General Assembly, or in January 2022.
Ohio Associate Assistant Attorney General Michael Walton replied that he agreed with her interpretation, “based on a cursory review.” Emails were also sent to LaRose’s office informing them of Blessing’s opinion.
However, the lawsuit said LaRose transmitted the petition to the General Assembly anyway, which the marijuana coalition believes was proper.
The coalition cites previous court decisions to support its case, although the House is also using a previous decision to make its arguments.
The marijuana coalition wants Frye to declare that LaRose’s transmission of the proposed law was legally proper and began the four-month period for the General Assembly to consider it.
The marijuana coalition says that if they can’t get that declaration, they want Frye to order LaRose to retransmit the proposed law when the 2023 legislative session starts, so the campaign doesn’t have to begin its first round of signature-gathering again.
The marijuana coalition is also requesting the defendants pay its legal fees.
Be the first to comment