Pubdate: Fri, 04 Jul 2014
Source: Lima News (OH)
Copyright: 2014 Freedom Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.limaohio.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/990
Author: Jason Hawk
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?197 (Marijuana - Medicinal - Ohio)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/industrial+hemp

POT PROPONENTS MISS SIGNATURE GOAL

Amherst-Based ORG Says Flat Funds Killed Ballot Hopes

An Amherst-based push to legalize medical marijuana and industrial 
hemp won't make it to the November ballot.

"The good news is we obviously got well over 100,000 signatures," 
said Amherst Township resident John Pardee, president of the Ohio 
Rights Group. "It's probably going to end up in the neighborhood of 
120,000 when it's all said and done."

The bad news is that 385,000 verified signatures were needed to 
qualify for a statewide vote.

Lorain County responded well, with commissioner Ted Kalo signing the 
petition and seeking signatures from other officeholders, judges, and lawyers.

Still, there wasn't the minimum five percent support here needed to 
turn Lorain County "green" for the cause.

Pardee said he expects that to change once the final signature tally is in.

The main reason the petition failed was funding, he said.

It would have taken roughly $2 million to hire a professional 
signature-gathering firm and despite support from some wealthy 
benefactors that simply wasn't in ORG's budget.

Thousands of volunteers turned out to push for the Ohio Cannabis 
Rights Amendment, establishing a presence in all 88 counties.

"All that momentum and all that noise and people coming together for 
the same cause has woken up the state of Ohio. In particular, it's 
woken up people down at the Statehouse," said Pardee, who believes 
legislators are paying more attention to the clamor for medical marijuana.

ORG is in talks with bipartisan political leaders, he said, but they 
still have concerns that legalization would turn Ohio into a Wild 
West of free-flowing drug use.

The political action group will take July to explore the best options 
for moving the cannabis cause forward -- whether that means revising 
its petition language, pursuing legislative opportunities, or pushing 
for home rule initiatives to pave the way for wider legalization.

Either way, ORG isn't going away.

"Although I'm disappointed we didn't make the ballot, I think we've 
gone a long way toward realizing our goals and really changed the 
conversation in Ohio," said Pardee.

He believes Ohio will inevitably join the 24 other states that have 
embraced limited access to pot. Most recently, Florida and New York 
adopted medical marijuana rules.

Pardee said he also has it on good authority that a pro-hemp bill 
will wind its way through the Ohio legislature as early as the end of 
the year. Lawmakers are keen on reaping the economic benefits it 
could bring, he said.

Hemp is a variant of the plant that can be used as a drug. Proponents 
have billed it as a miracle material that can be used in cheap 
production of everything from rope to fuel to textiles.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom