COLUMBUS — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office today rejected the summary language for a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would make changes to Ohio’s marijuana laws.

On March 2, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office received a written petition to amend the Ohio Constitution, entitled “An Amendment to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol,” from the attorney representing the petitioning committee. The attorney general’s role is to determine whether the petition summary is a fair and truthful representation of the proposed amendment.

A response letter sent to the petitioners today states, “Section (A) of the proposed amendment lists several findings and declarations that the amendment proposes to be made by ‘the people of the state of Ohio.’ The summary makes no mention of these findings and declarations. Thus, it completely fails to inform a potential signer that the amendment elevates these ‘findings and declarations’ to a constitutional standard.”

“Upon reviewing Section (A) of the proposed amendment and comparing it to the summary language, I am unable to certify the summary as a fair and truthful representation of the proposed amendment,” Attorney General Dave Yost said in the letter rejecting the petition.

The full text of the letter to petitioners and the petition can be found at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/Petitions.