Pubdate: Tue, 16 Feb 2016
Source: Plain Dealer, The (Cleveland, OH)
Copyright: 2016 The Plain Dealer
Contact: http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/letter-to-editor/
Website: http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/342
Note: priority given to local letter writers
Author: Jackie Borchardt

OHIO MEDICAL MARIJUANA AMENDMENT DETAILS RELEASED

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Marijuana Policy Project has unveiled more details 
about the medical marijuana amendment planned for Ohio this year. And 
it has named three Ohioans who will co-chair the campaign.

Language for the constitutional amendment, planned for the November 
ballot, has not yet been drafted, the president of the national 
nonprofit said in questions and answers posted on Facebook and sent 
to cleveland.com Tuesday night. The language will be based off laws 
in the 23 states where medical marijuana is legal.

Here are the basics, according to organization President Rob Kampia.

What would the amendment do?

The amendment will establish a system where patients with certain 
medical conditions can apply for a medical marijuana ID card that 
allows them to buy and possess marijuana. The state would license 
businesses to grow, process, test, distribute and sell medical 
marijuana, and sales tax would be applied. License fees and tax 
revenues would pay for the program's administrative costs.

Kampia said patients and their caregivers could grow their own 
marijuana as soon as the amendment becomes law.

And there will not be a monopoly, a sticking point with the 
recreational marijuana amendment last year.

"The retail price in Ohio will inevitably be slightly lower than in 
other states, because the Ohio initiative won't impose large taxes or 
bureaucratic hurdles that would translate into higher prices," Kampia 
wrote. "Also, the Ohio initiative will embrace a healthy, free-market 
approach to the production of medical marijuana, which will drive 
down the cost as compared to, say, an oligopoly or a government-run monopoly."

Kampia said there will likely be two types of cultivation licenses: 
one costing "thousands of dollars" and another, larger "expensive license."

Previous coverage: 5 ways new medical marijuana initiative changes 
the game in Ohio

Who is leading the Ohio effort?

Marijuana Policy Project registered an Ohio political action 
committee called Ohioans for Medical Marijuana last month. The 
organization chose Ohioans Michael Revercomb, Lissa Satori, and John 
Pardee to lead the campaign.

Revercomb served on the board of the central Ohio chapter of the 
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Pardee was the president of Ohio Rights Group, an organization that 
has been collecting signatures for a medical-only constitutional 
amendment since 2013.

Sartori was an Ohio Rights Group leader who worked on last year's 
Issue 3 legalization campaign.

Kampia said Ohio has the "highest per-capita level of infighting" 
among marijuana activists and said there are "no hard feelings" for 
people who don't want to work with the leaders.

"This campaign needs to be a team effort, and we're hoping that Ohio 
can surprise the nation by showing that people can, in fact, work 
together successfully to promote a common cause," Kampia said.

Strategic Public Partners, a Columbus-based Republican consulting 
firm, is no longer working on the campaign. The firm's president, 
Brandon Lynaugh, declined to discuss the decision.

What's the timeline?

Amendment language is expected in early March, and the campaign 
expects to begin collecting signatures of registered voters on April 2.

Supporters need 305,591 valid signatures by July 6 to qualify for the 
November ballot. The campaign wants volunteers to collect between 100 
and 1,000 signatures each during that time and will also pay 
signature collectors.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom