Page 42 - Amendment Center News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Kotek’s letter comes after lawmakers and policy experts spent more than a year crafting the legislation.

While a small town decriminalizing cannabis may not sound significant, it is part of a larger movement in Ohio. More than three dozen Ohio localities have enacted decriminalization through local ballot measures over the last few years. Meanwhile, major Ohio cities including Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland have decriminalized marijuana through city council action.

Kotek’s letter comes after lawmakers and policy experts have spent over than a year crafting the legislation. Some public defense leaders say Kotek’s request for the changes would force them to oppose a bill they otherwise support.

With just weeks remaining in Oregon’s legislative session, Gov. Tina Kotek is changing the course of a long-sought overhaul of the state’s public defense system. Kotek sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Rules this month requesting changes to Senate Bill 337, the bill meant to address a constitutional crisis that’s left thousands of people accused of crimes without attorneys.

Under the final version of the bill passed in both the House and Senate, adults 21 and over could legally possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana in public. They would also be able to have up to 2 pounds of processed marijuana in their homes and grow up to 8 cannabis plants (4 mature).