COLUMBUS — A renewed effort to have Ohio join the likes of Colorado and Washington in legalizing marijuana for recreational use could soon hit the streets to gather signatures to put the question on the ballot.

But don’t expect to vote on recreational pot for Ohio on Nov. 6 when Michigan voters take a look at the issue. The measure’s supporters here must gather nearly 306,000 valid signatures of registered voters, so 2019 is the target for Ohio.

Jonathan Varner, consultant for the issue committee Ohio Families for Change, stressed that those involved with the proposal Marijuana Rights and Regulations amendment were not affiliated with the failed ResponsibleOhio legalization ballot issue in 2015 that would have earmarked growing facilities to specific locations owned by certain investors.

They also did not seek licenses for businesses under the medical marijuana program.

“Ohio Families for Change thinks it important to act sooner rather than later, not because they want to corner the market, because that’s very much not what this is about,” Mr. Varner said. “It’s because there are people getting arrested for things they shouldn’t be.

“They feel it should be treated very much like adult use of products like alcohol and tobacco, and they don’t want to wait,” he said.

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He said the group is closely watching what is happening in Michigan with its vote this fall.

The Ohio Ballot Board on Thursday unanimously agreed that the constitutional amendment represents a single amendment, the final hurdle before the group could start circulating petitions.

This proposed five-page amendment would keep the state’s medical marijuana program in place while opening the door for possessing, growing, using, buying, and selling pot. While current law provides for medical marijuana in certain forms, it directly prohibits growing and smoking it.

The proposal would authorize the General Assembly to regulate, tax, and license the marijuana industry much as it does alcohol, but government could not get into the marijuana business itself.

Local governments would retain zoning authority to regulate cannabis businesses locations.

Despite the 2015 defeat of broad legalization of marijuana, polls at the time showed overwhelming support among Ohioans for medical marijuana. That prompted state lawmakers to create a program that is still in the implementation phase.

Marcie Seidel, executive director of the Prevention Action Alliance and a member of the state’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee, said it’s too soon for Ohioans to consider expanding legal marijuana use.

“We have this [medical] program in place to roll out on Sept. 8,” she said. “A lot of money, time, and energy has been put into a good program that will benefit hopefully the patient but will not compromise public health in Ohio.

“I’d like to keep it that way forever if I could, but at least we should keep this in place so that we know what needs to be tweaked and reinforced and can do it in a methodical, intelligent way,” she said.

By the time 2019 rolls around, Ohio Families could have some competition. Some players who claim they’ve been unfairly shut out of the new medical marijuana cultivator market have threatened to turn to the ballot again to work around state regulators.

In a related move, the Ohio Department of Commerce on Thursday granted a provisional license to a large medical marijuana growing facility to PharmaCann Ohio, of Licking County. The move was designed to correct the department’s prior scoring error that denied the entity a license when other cultivators were announced months ago.

Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.

First Published May 17, 2018, 6:29 p.m.