Attached video: Deadline approaching to get marijuana issue on November ballot

CLEVELAND (WJW) – The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted more than 6,500 new signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State in an effort to get an issue to legalize recreational marijuana on the November ballot in Ohio.

“Today our coalition submitted 6,545 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State, well above the 679 required to get on the ballot this November,” coalition spokesperson Tom Haren wrote in an email. “I cannot express our thanks enough to everyone who came out to support this effort. This submission validates what we’ve said all along, regulating marijuana is popular in Ohio. We’re looking forward to giving Ohio voters a chance to make their voices heard at the ballot this fall.”

There’s been an ongoing push to make recreational marijuana legal in Ohio.

Last month, the coalition delivered petitions with more than 220,000 signatures to the office of the Ohio Secretary of State. But Haren said his group fell short after the state determined hundreds of signatures were invalid.

“Signatures can be rejected by the local boards of election for any number of reasons. If a signature doesn’t match or a voter is registered to vote in Cuyahoga County, but they mistakenly signed a Lorain County petition,” Haren said.

If voters approve the issue, Ohio would become the 24th state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

The ballot measure proposes allowing adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow plants at home.

The proposal calls for a 10% tax on each marijuana product sold.