Ohio Medical Marijuana Amendment Leaders Revealed

If voters approve medical marijuana in Ohio in 2016, the regulations in the program would closely mirror those of states with current medical marijuana programs already in place. The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) has named three Ohio residents as co-chairs for the campaign, reports Cleveland.com.

The organization leading the legalization efforts in Ohio is called Ohioans for Medical Marijuana. The local leaders selected are Lissa Sartori, John Pardee and Michael Revercomb. All three of the appointed leaders have pre-requisites in fighting for marijuana legalization in some form.

Michael Revercomb previously served in the central Ohio chapter of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Lissa Sartori worked on the 2015 Issue 3 legalization campaign and John Pardee is the former president of Ohio Rights Group.

Robert Kampia, MPP President, said, “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.”

The amendment would implement a system to allow patients with qualifying medical conditions to apply for a medical marijuana ID card. The card would allow patients to purchase and possess medical marijuana. Businesses would have to obtain proper licensing to grow, test, distribute, sell and process medical marijuana.

Fees from licenses and tax revenues would ultimately pay for the administrative costs associated with the new program. Sales tax would also be paid, similar to many other states’ existing programs.

If the amendment becomes law, Ohio patients and caregivers would be permitted to grown their own medical marijuana. Monopolies would not be allowed within Ohio’s program.

In order for the amendment to be on the November 2016 ballot for public voting, 305,591 signatures of registered voters in support of medical marijuana legalization must be collected by July 6^th. Volunteers and paid signature collection positions will be available to help the campaign reach its goal. Signature collections are scheduled to begin on April 2^nd, following the amendment language’s completion in March.