Could Ohio move toward adult-use marijuana in 2021? Here are some factors at play
Matt Winningham
Matt Marteney inspects plants hung up to dry at Buckeye Relief, a Level I marijuana cultivator in Eastlake.
As pro-legalization advocates in Ohio watched several more states approve adult-use marijuana programs in 2020 — including politically conservative stalwarts like Arizona and South Dakota — there was an even-greater sense the Buckeye State missed its chance to do the same.
Largely due to COVID-19 hampering efforts to collect petition signatures, a campaign in Ohio to bring an adult-use referendum before voters last fall failed to reach the ballot.
Now, with a new administration under President Joe Biden and a Democrat-controlled legislature signaling interest in ending marijuana prohibition, and with the latest national polls continuing to show a majority of Americans viewing adult-use programs as a "good idea," federal legalization may not be far off. Of course, marijuana proponents have been saying the public is a few years out from federal legalization for the last decade, so take that with a grain of salt.