Ohio’s Issue 2 passes to legalize recreational marijuana

Ohio voters have voted to legalize recreational marijuana, making it the 24th state to do so, Decision Desk HQ projects. 

The measure, Issue 2, will allow adults 21 and older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow up to six marijuana plants at home. It will also establish a 10-percent tax on marijuana sales. The state legalized medical marijuana in 2016. 

Nearly half of all states, and Washington, D.C., have now legalized recreational marijuana, and a handful more have at least legalized medical marijuana or decriminalized recreational use. 

The measure seemed likely to pass in advance of the vote based on multiple polls leading up to Election Day, with one from last month showing 57 percent saying they would support it, with only 35 percent opposed. Supporters of the measure also significantly outraised a PAC that organized to oppose it. 

Voters previously defeated a measure that would have legalized recreational use and sale in 2015, with more than 60 percent voting against it. 

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An Ohio State University study from August found that a legal recreational marijuana market could generate between $276 million and $403 million in annual tax revenue by the fifth year of full legalization. 

But legalization in Ohio is not guaranteed, even though the measure passed — since it was a citizen-initiated measure, state law will allow the Legislature to modify or repeal it. 

Many Republicans in the Legislature, and Gov. Mike DeWine (R), have expressed opposition to legalization. 

Issue 2 passed alongside Issue 1, a ballot measure that approved a state constitutional amendment that would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” with “reasonable limits” in Ohio. It will effectively protect abortion rights at least up to the point of viability, usually between 20 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.