Pro-marijuana group ResponsibleOhio dead, founder says, won't press ballot issue in 2016

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The co-founder of the group behind Ohio's failed marijuana initiative said Thursday that ResponsibleOhio is dead and the state legislature is the best route to legalize marijuana for medical use.

ResponsibleOhio founder Jimmy Gould told reporters Thursday that ResponsibleOhio will not be back with another constitutional amendment this year as he promised after voters overwhelmingly rejected Issue 3 in November.

Efforts to gain passage of the so-called Fresh Start Act have ended, Gould said. Had Issue 3 passed, making marijuana legal, the act would have allowed for removal of previous marijuana convictions from the books.

Issue 3 would have legalized recreational and medical marijuana, but commercial cannabis could have grown at only 10 sites owned by ResponsibleOhio investors. Investors spent more than $20 million on the campaign, but the measure was defeated by a vote of 64 to 36 percent.

"We spent a lot...

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