Republican Attorney General Dave Yost has rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state for lack of valid signatures.
Yost said in a release Monday that he did not yet take steps to determine whether the latest proposal to lift restrictions on marijuana was accurate.
"Because your submission did not contain the verified signatures of at least one thousand qualified electors, we must reject it,” Yost wrote to the petitioning committee. “Finally, because the petition failed to meet the signature threshold, I have not made any determination concerning the fairness and truthfulness of the proposed summary.”
If approved by voters, the "Marijuana Rights and Regulations"amendment would allow anyone over 21 to buy, possess and consume marijuana like they do beer, wine or liquor.
Yost said only 271 of 1,248 signatures submitted by backers were valid. At least 1,000 valid signatures from Ohio registered voters are needed to proceed.
Yost rejected summary languageon a separate, earlier proposal.
Ohio voters in 2015 overwhelmingly defeated a ballot issue to legalize marijuana.
Recreational marijuana use is currently legal in 11 states.
